


What Are The Odds

by FanficNinja



Series: W.A.T.O. Universe [1]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-07
Updated: 2017-03-17
Packaged: 2018-09-30 08:43:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 61
Words: 89,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10159103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanficNinja/pseuds/FanficNinja
Summary: Now that Red Team and Blue Team are back in Blood Gulch, things seem like they're doing okay. Friendship, fun and maybe a little romance here and there seems to now be what's running their world.However, things may be a little more problematic then what they think...





	1. Prologue; Return To Blood Gulch

Church stepped off the aircraft and back on to the bright green grass of Blood Gulches grounds. It had definitely changed from the last time he saw it. The grass was nicer to look at and there was hardly any dirt. Their bases had been modified to be much more homely and less military-like. After all, they were'nt going to be fighting with the reds anymore...

...then again, all they really did was just stand around, talking with them anyway. 

Church turned around to see the others hop off the aircraft aswell. Simmons, Grif, Sarge, Donut, Tucker and Caboose landed softly on the grass. Washington, smiled at them from the aircraft. Well, it was hard to tell with his helmet on. 

"Are you sure you dont wanna come with us Wash?" Tucker asked. "You were technically among us for a while, even if it wasn't exactly here-here" 

"Sorry guys. Carolina needs me. I'll try my best to come visit though" Washington replied. 

"Great! Now we'll have to deal with a lousy blue coming in when they need them most!" Sarge sighed. Simmons looked at him.

"But sir, were not fighting the blues anymore" Simmons told.

"Oh yeah" Sarge let off a slight chuckle before looking away from Simmons. 

Grif smiled brightly. (Though, he might not have, again he was wearing a helmet) "Since were not fighting the blues anymore THAT means twice as much breaks, right?"

"Why of course not Grif!" Sarge sharply replied. "Now that theres no BLUES to attack we must move onto the next round of enemies! Like, brown...or Pink!"

They all looked over at Donut. "Its light-ish red!" Donut said, quickly retaliating at the glances. 

Church sighed, giving off a sheepish smile. It seemed exactly like the old days, before Church knew he was an AI, before they knew of the freelancers, before well...EVERYTHING! Old him would have probably said something like 'not this fucking shit again' but now, due to everything he'd been through? He was just happy to be in a calm enviroment. 

Ever since Donuts retaliation, it had been extremely silent. Nice and relaxing. Until a voice erupted from the silence. "This place seems familiar..." Church turned. It was Caboose. 

"Of course its familiar idiot, we HAVE been here before!" Tucker said groaning. 

Caboose looked over. "Well that explains it"

Tucker rolled his eyes, aswell as everyone else except Church sighing in the utter disbelief. Simmons looked at Caboose. "Seriously, do you have any real friends?"

Caboose nodded. "Of course! Theres you, red guy, gold guy-"

"Its orange!" Grif yelled.

"-and my best friend Church" Caboose finished.

Tucker laughed a bit. "Are you gonna let him call you that?" He asked, looking at Church.

Church sighed, he was in no mood to argue. Besides, it wouldn't change anything. 'Caboose will still be my best friend anyway...' He thought, quickly however re-thinking. 'Wait, no. It wont change Caboose THINKING hes my best friend...thats what i meant, i mean c'mon, this whole journey, though huge couldn't make me actually say Caboose was my fucking best friend...right?' 

Though, on the inside, Church had been talkative on the outside he was dead quiet. "Okay then... Church is going through an AI glitch or whatever..." Tucker sighed.

"I dont think thats how it works Tucker" Donut stated. 

Church suddenly noticed his silence, he turned to his friends. "Oh what? Sorry guys" he looked over at Caboose. His thoughts rushing, he was literally considering Caboose HIS friend...

"Well...sorry to cut this short but i have to go" Washington told. Everyone nodded and began saying their goodbyes. 

\------

The rest of the day went as one would expect. After Wash left they all thought it would be best to get some rest. After all, they had been through a lot before being dropped off. They all went to bed rather quickly, being very tired. They hadn't had much sleep recently so it was to be understood. However, amongst all of them one was still awake. Church.

Laying on his bed in his room, staring at the ceiling. His thoughts running around in circles. He sighed. "What are the odds...that i would ever like Caboose?"


	2. Chapter 1 ; The First, Or Another Morning At Blood Gulch

Church got out of his bed, still thinking about Caboose, however since it was a new morning and a new day, he subdued his thoughts. Church made his way to a mirror. He hadn't seen himself without his armour for ages, after all Blood Gulch never had a mirror before and usually when Church was around one, he'd be in his armour.

He gazed at the mirror. It was him. Blue eyes, dark brown hair. Somethings about him that he should know from the top of a hat, yet because of the long time, it still felt knew, as if he hadn't seen himself before. It was a weird feeling. 

Church made his way down the hallway and off to the lounge. Yet, suddenly, he felt his feet come in contact with something sharp. It hurt like hell.

"Fuck!" Church shouted, feeling his foot. He looked down. It was one of Cabooses 'dinosaur' toys. Church was agrivated. "CABOOSE! PICK YOUR TOYS OFF FROM THE FLOOR!" Church yelled angrilly. He felt as if he was talking to a child. He expected Caboose to answer, but he didn't. Church sighed.

\---

When Church got to the lounge, Caboose was no where in sight. Instead, it was only Tucker. Tucker was lying on the couch, eating a bag of potato crisps. "Hey Tucker, seen Caboose?" 

Tucker turned to face Church. "No, not since yesterday, hes not in his room either" Church nodded, he looked at Tucker. He had never actually seen Tuckers face before now which was suprising, since they knew eachother for years. Tucker was of dark skin tone with black spikey hair. He wore an aqua shirt (I guess somethings never change) that read: ladies man. 

Church rolled his eyes. "What kind of shirt is that?" 

"A very fashionable high class shirt, ladies love it" Tucker told. 

"Of course they do..." Church said in a sarcastic tone. "Well, if Caboose isn't in his room where would he be?" 

"I dont know. Maybe he went to Red Base?" Tucker suggested. Church shrugged. He might aswell give it a shot, since it was obvious Caboose was no where in the Blue base. If he was, he would have answered when Church yelled at him over the toy. Church made his way to the front door, opening it. Church walked outside and began walking over to Red Base.

\---

Church knocked on the door. "Hello? Anyone there?" 

The door opened to reveal Simmons. "Hey Church" 

"Yeah, hi. Have you seen Caboose?" Church asked.

Simmons sighed. "Weeellll...."

"AND I HAVE MADE COOKIES! AND WE CAN BE FRIENDS!"

"Shut the fuck up Caboose! Im trying to sleep!" The voices called from inside the base.

"Can you take him back?" Simmons some-what pleaded.

"Yeah..."


	3. Chapter 2; Unpleasant Mornings

Church had gotten Caboose out of Red Base and was now walking him over to Blue Base, leaving a sighing Simmons and an angry Grif. "Seriously? How stupid is that guy?" Grif asked, getting into a comfortable position on the couch.

"I don't know. Obviously pretty stupid" Simmons replied, turning on the television. "Ooh Star Treks on!" Simmons smiled and took a seat next to Grif. 

"Do you HAVE to watch your nerd stuff when I'm in the room?" Grif questioned.

"What do you care? You'll be asleep!" Simmons told, now paying his attention to the television. 

"Welp" Grif yawned, stretching his arm before firmly shutting his eyes. "Can't argue with that logic" Simmons sighed. Continuing to watch the show whilst Grif was asleep. 

\----

"And then Grif said a nono word, but don't worry. I forgave him and we became SECOND BEST FRIENDS!" Caboose smiled as he walked with Church. His blonde hair messy and his bright blue eyes sparkling. Church rolled his eyes.

"Listen, buddy. Maybe next time when you go over there, don't interrupt when Grif's having a nap" Church informed. 

Caboose gave him a confused glance. "But Grif is always asleep" He stated.

Good point. Church thought.

"I said don't do it when he's asleep" Church told, trying to sound stern.

When they made it to Blue Base they saw Tucker asleep on the couch. A rather dirty magazine unopened resting on his chest. As Church tried to tell Caboose NOT to look at the magazine, one of Tuckers eyes opened. He saw Church and then.... "Oh shit Caboose!" Tucker rushed and hid the magazine under the couch. "W-what's up dudes?"

Church glared but Caboose smiled. "Well, I went to Red Team and hung out with Grif, he was snoring a lot so I think that's his way of saying i'm his friend, then he started swearing for no reason and then I had to go and then i'm here and then I wanted to see what you were reading but Church said no so I didn't and then you woke up and made the magazine disappear"

Tucker raised an eyebrow. "Right" He looked over at Church who was still glaring. His face basically screaming the rule.

You know that your not meant to fall asleep reading them because then Caboose can see!

Tucker sighed and gave a frown, giving a look to Church. Him and Church could always give eachother looks when they wanted no one else to hear, and they would know what it meant... sometimes. Tucker could remember once giving Church a look telling him that Grif was a lazy butt but Church mistook that as an insult for him. THAT wasn't a good day. Tucker stared at Church and rolled his eyes.

Fine. I'll get rid of it when Caboose leaves...

Good.


	4. Chapter 3; Gaming

Caboose, Tucker and Church sat down on the sofa. Church was bored as fuck, Caboose was as happy as always and Tucker was sad about throwing away his magazine, but still acting happy. The three had decided to play a video game on their XBOX and we're now bickering about what to play.

"How about... Black Ops III?" Tucker asked. Caboose and Church shook their head. Caboose didn't like the violence and Church sucked at it.  He always missed his shots, always blaming it on the controller. Suddenly a notification came up on their XBOX. They checked it out.

"Hey, looks like Simmons and Grif are online. What are they playing?" Church questioned. Tucker shrugged. 

"Dunno dude, i'll quickly check..." Tucker checked their accounts. "Looks like 'SmartCoolGuy11' and 'FuckingHungry' are playing Super Street Smash Fighter Bros." 

"Can we join?" Caboose smiled brightly.

"Sure, if they want us too" Tucker said, sending a join request. "Now it's just the waiting game"

\---

"K.O" The voice called from the TV. Grif smiled whilst Simmons frowned. 

"Grif wins again! Now how much of your rations does that earn?" Grif gave a playful smirk. 

"How do you keep winning? I mapped it all out perfectly!" Simmons sighed, frustrated.

"Dude, MewTwo beats Kirby. It's basically a fucking super poke'mon against a pink blob with shoes" Grif laughed a little. Suddenly Donut sat next to Simmons.

"I say you go Zelda. Look at that style! It's so bold and threatening!" Donut stated, giving a hand movement showing off his love for the outfit. Simmons and Grif rolled their eyes. Suddenly, a notification popped up on their console. 

"Hmmm, 'LoverNotALoser' 'GhostMotherFucker' and 'TuckerDidIt' want to join..." Simmons said. "Basically blue team. Do we accept?" 

"Sure why not" Grif stated, smirking. "I need a real challenge anyways"

"Asshole" Simmons mumbled. 

They accepted the invite and one by one the blues came into the game. Entering the choose your character stage. The game wen't rather quickly. Church was the first to die, by an accidental Caboose hit. Simmons got killed by Tucker and then Grif got a special power, killing Caboose and Tucker. 

They stopped playing late at night when Sarge interrupted and told Simmons and Grif it was their turn to keep a night lookout for anything suspicious. Though, there was nothing out there to look out for. 

\---

Tucker, Church and Caboose had fallen asleep with their controllers. Each one was snoring loudly, Church hugging Caboose while they slept. Tucker was also hugging something... A pillow. Though, he personally would have wanted it to be Washington he was hugging. It seemed like nothing could go wrong.

They were back at Blood Gulch, happy as could be. Playing games, okay meals and nice friends and maybe more then friends here and there. Everything was fine.


	5. Chapter 4, Pancakes And Pals

"U-ugh..?" Church opened one of his eyes. He was on the couch with a single blanket on him. 

Where's Caboose and Tucker?

He got up and adjusted his shirt. Judging by the fact that it was the same shirt he was wearing yesterday, A black one with bold white text saying Leave me the fuck alone, it became clear that he fell asleep unintentionally. 

"Dude! These pancakes are fucking good!" Church heard Tucker call. He followed the voice and wound up in the kitchen. There, he saw Caboose making pancakes and Tucker with a plateful of pancakes happily eating away as he sat at the kitchen table. Church yawned and opened the cupboard, taking out a mug and making some coffee. Tucker looked over at him. "Morning dude, you should so try some of the pancakes Caboose has made. They're fucking awesome!" Tucker smiled at Church, though Church did not smile back. He simply sat down next to Tucker and drank some of the coffee he made. 

Caboose set out a plate of pancakes in front of Church. "Hope you like them! Its my..." Caboose paused as he tried to remember whose recipe it was. "...GRANDMA! Yes, grandma" Church raised an eyebrow at Cabooses remark and then took a bite of the pancake. 

It was amazing. The flavours mixed so well and the batter was soft. Church gave a small smile.

Geez Caboose, how did you get this fucking good at pancakes?

"How is it?" Church looked up at Tucker. 

"Eh' its okay" Church said, trying to sound like he couldn't care less. 

"Really dude? Just okay?" Tucker sighed. He mumbled something under his breath. Church couldn't hear what he said but judging by Tuckers expression, he figured it was for the best he didn't. 

"Tucker, if I said what I actually thought all the time then I wouldn't keep my title as Number #1 Asshole" Church gave a cheeky smile. Tucker rolled his eyes and then looked over at Caboose. 

"If you think it's okay, then next time, I WILL HAVE TO TRY HARDER!!!" Caboose smiled brightly. Tucker frowned at this which confused Church. Tucker looked away from the two and out the window.

 

Why does he have to be so full of shit all the time? Especially in front of Caboose. Its obvious Caboose lo-

 

"Dude, what's wrong?" Church asked, giving a questionable look to Tucker.

 

"Nothing" Tucker sharply answered, turning to face Church once again. He sighed and took another bite of his pancake, looking down.

 

I wonder what the fuck Red Base is doing right now.

\---

"Grif for the last time, ICE-CREAM ISN'T BREAKFAST!" Simmons yelled at his teammate. 

"Why not? Anything could be breakfast! Snack cakes, cotton candy, fucking chocolate! The possibilities are endless!" Grif retaliated. 

"I kind of agree with this one Simmons. It's not so bad to have something a little treaty now and then for the mornings. Though not sausages, they go right in me" Donut smiled at the two. They gave him disgusted glances.

"Through me, Donut. Sausages go right THROUGH me" Grif groaned, correcting the soldier before turning his attention to Simmons. "You know what Simmons? You go have some boring food like cereal, while I'll have something awesome, like... ice-cream" 

"You know I heard that Blue team are having pancakes! Why not that?" Donut stated, the two soldiers in front of him turned to face him again. 

"Where the fuck did you here that? We haven't been over there today!" Simmons questioned. Donut shrugged. 

"It just sounded like a good idea! Blue team always seem so official, so their my number #1 guys! Y'know, to say said official thing!" Donut informed. 

"Riigghhtt..." Grif rolled his eyes. "Well, aside innuendo's, pancakes does sound pretty good" 

"Then it's settled" Simmons said, smiling now that they had come to a decision. "Who's going to cook it?" 

 

...

"Simmons" Grif and Donut said at the same time, looking over at the maroon soldier.

"Fine" Simmons sighed and started walking over to the kitchen. "Lazy assholes"


	6. Chapter 5, I Bet You...

Church sighed as he layed his head down on the grass. The morning had gone okay, though Tucker seemed off. For some reason, when the particular aqua soldier finished his breakfast, he didn't even say goodbye to Church as he walked out the door. Church hadn't seen the guy for a while now, now that he thought about it. 

Must be at red base... Church thought. He had the sudden urge to go find Tucker and figure out whats wrong. After all, they were friends and Tucker had been treating Church like a dick lately. So, now that Caboose was too busy hanging out with Shiela, it would finally be the perfect time to confront Tucker about his off behaviour.

And with that notion, Church got up, straightened his shirt and made his way towards red base. 

\---

When Church made it to red base, he didn't find anyone. A small note on the door informed him that they had gone to do a couple laps around the canyon in their jeep. Though, he knew that meant Grif was somewhere around. How did he know that? Well, everytime they'd do laps in the jeep, Sarge would always force Grif to not come along in the desperate hope a soldier will come and murder the fat-ass as he hangs out alone at red base. 

Church paused and admired the thought of killing Grif when it could have been, but quickly shook his head and focused on the matter at hand. Church wasn't going to stay around and wait for the jeep to come back nor was he going to try looking for the lazy idiot. There were reasons for each. One, red team would spend hours having fun on the jeep and two? What help would Grif be anyway?

With that, Church sighed and began walking away from the red base structure. Welp, i just wasted some time off my day doing pointless shit... Church frowned and started making his way back to bluw base.

\---

"So, when do you think Lopez and Donut are gonna get together?"

"You know Grif, i think they're already together. I mean, Lopez doesn't give off the 'i fucking hate my life' vibe as much as he does around him and Donut always asks to be paired with him" Tucker told. Grif nodded.

"I see your point. Though, that could just be crushing" Grif notioned. 

"Eh' i think they're together. Makes more sense" Tucker stated.

"Wanna bet on that?" Grif asked.

"Sure dude, how much?" Tucker asked.

"How about... five bucks?" 

"Twenty"

"Ten"

"Agreed" the two shook hands. 

"Speaking of bets, did i call Church and Caboose or what?" Grif questioned. Tucker sighed.

"I think you might have, though it probably won't work out" 

"Let me guess, Church is being too much of a di-" 

"Yup. I swear, he can't let Caboose be happy. 'These pancakes are meh' 'This present is fine'" Tucker gave off a hand movement of agrivation. His Church impression quite unflatterising and unaccurate though managed to get the point across. "Honestly, i feel bad for Caboose"

"Me too. I may have betted on them, but that doesn't mean i support it. Church is just too much of an Asshole" Grif sighed. "And talk about backstory! Theres so much crammed in Church i probably only know a quarter" 

"Boom Chika Bow W-"

"No" 

"Awww..." Tucker pouted. "C'mon, its been forever!"

"No, its dumb, stupid and the most annoying thing ever" 

"Fine" Tucker groaned. "Anyways, your right. Church is just too complicated. Who knows how truely messed up he is inside. Remember when he had that outburst at us? I could tell he was letting something rather darker take hold dude, and thats fucking scary"

"True that" Grif took a bite out of the snack cake he was holding. 

"Hey, that looks good. Where'd you get it?" Tucker pointed at the snack.

"Simmons. He made it for me" Grif informed. 

"Course he did..." Tucker gave off a weak smile. When he and Grif started off this weakly betting on supposedly gay friends, they made a deal to never include pairings that contained themselves. If they could have, Tucker would have paid all his money on Grif and Simmons. They argued like they were dating, they sometimes made sacrifices for eachother and if one thought the other was hurt? They would stop at nothing to help them. 

"Hey dude" Grif turned towards Tucker.

"Yeah?"

"Do you love Wash?"


	7. Chapter 6, Sweat'n Simmons

"Do you love Wash?"

Silence dawned. Tucker looked at Grif as if he was the weirdest thing in the world. Grifs motives and thoughts were clear. He wanted confirmation, to help a dude out and win a bet he made with Simmons a couple weeks back. As for Tucker, all he was thinking about was to lie or not. He did like Wash... and not in the way the other guys did. He did for a very long time. Yet, what was the point in saying anything about it back then? Wash didn't like him back, atleast to his knowledge and on other matters... what would Tucker be if he turned out to be gay to the others? His whole shtick had to do with women. Would they even recognise him as the same guy, and if so, how would they react? Sarge, Caboose and only god knows what Church would think. 

But, here he was. Confronted by the laziest of them all, asking Tucker whether he had feelings for Wash or not. Tucker sighed. He had to atleast tell SOMEONE. He looked over at Grif. That settles it, he was going to tell ol' fat-ass himself the truth. "Dude-"

*CLICK*

Tucker and Grif looked up to see Church walk through the front door of blue base. Church gazed at the both of them. The hawaiians face giving a surprisingly serious look and Tuckers face full on blushing. Church, being the detective that he was, suddenly came to the one conclusion he had made in that moment...

"Are you two a thing?" Church asked. They both glared at Church, trying to give off the 'your fucking wrong' look, but Church was too clouded in his own idea to get it. To him, he just witnessed the aftermath of a confession, and was now watching the lying glares of a denying couple. "Woah, guys! Sorry to interrupt your kiss up"

"Dude, we're not a thing" Tucker stated, furrowing his brows at Church.

"Sure" Church nodded, his tone dripping with sarcasm. He then started walking over to the dining room, where Caboose and Donut were making cookies. "Hey Caboose, Donut, wanna know something cool about Grif and Tucker?"

"Oh don't you fucking dare dude!" Tucker got up instantly and was ready to punch the asshole. Grif got up too, but simply walked out the front door. He just wanted a nap.

\---

Grif was asleep on the couch. Simmons was typing away on a laptop whilst Sarge was polishing his shotgun in the garage. Donut, who suddenly sat next to Simmons, gave off an excited grin. "Simmons, guess what!?"

"What Donut?" Simmons turned to look at the man dressed in pink. 

"I was just at blue base, and guess what Church told me?" The clear happiness in Donuts voice was booming.

"What?"

"Grif and Tucker are a couple!" Donut smiled cheekily. 

"WHAT!?" Simmons shut his laptop almost instantly. Grif to no ones surprise, seemingly unaffected be the loud scream, was still sleeping. Donut raised an eyebrow. "A-are you sure?" Simmons voice was squeaky. 

"Well, thats just what Church said, and we all know him!" Donut told, trying to re-assure Simmons. 

'Is it just me, or does Simmons seem like hes really upset about that? Maybe he likes... *GASP*'

"Yeah, we do know Church don't we? He probably joked about that..." Simmons looked over at the sleeping Grif before almost instantly paying his attention back to Donut sweating. "It was probably just a joke!"

'Oh fuck me, fuck me, fuck me! Don't tell me the ladies man got to Grif first??? Out of everyone it had to be him! Isn't he straight? No, no, no!!! Oh shit, of course. He's the one who has the cool catch phrase and fucking alien sword. I know i should've made Simmons-sized a thing! Oh god. And if they do break up, Sarge will hate Grif more for going out with a blue, and that means he might never want to be my dad! Why does god hate me so fucking much! AAAH WHY IN THE FUCK DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME!!??'

"Simmons, are you okay?" Grif suddenly asked.

Simmons snapped out of his thoughts and paid his attention to Grif. "U-ugh what!? No. I mean... yes!"

'Oh shit, hes smiling! Its cause hes no longer single... i fucking knew it!'

"Good, because i need my fucking sleep and your worrying me" Grif got back down on the couch and closed his eyes. Simmons stared.

'He's worried about me!? Maybe theirs hope! Or what if Tuckers opening his eyes to be kinder to his teammates? Oh why do i have to be so fucking paranoid!?'

"Oh, you would not believe what happened with me and Tucker" Grif sat up.

'I FUCKING KNEW IT!'


	8. Chapter 7, Asshole

It was early morning in blood gulch, the sun slowly rising and the distant noise of birds chirping alluding to the peace. Church and Tucker were sitting down next to eachother drinking coffee. The two were not speaking. Tucker was still mad at Church for what he said to Caboose and Donut the day before. Especially considering Caboose and Donut had BELIEVED him and probably still did. 

Feeling slightly annoyed at the awkward silence, Church rested his coffee cup on the small table infront of them and turned to face his teammate. "You know I don't actually think you guys are a couple right? That helps, right?" 

"Oh yeah dude, totally!" Tucker said, his voice the most sarcastic it could ever be. "Its not like i'm mad because you told Donut and Caboose. Who by the way, BELIEVE YOU. No, no, no. Im mad because you think were a thing! Yup, thats it. Your a real fucking genius dude!" Tucker drank more of his coffee. 

"I was just trying to brighten the mood" Church defended. "You don't have to be so ru-"

"Dude, do you even know why i punched you yesterday?" Tucker asked. Church stared, his memories very clear from the night before. After he told Caboose and Donut about the 'good news' he was soon pushed to the side by the impact of Tucker punching him. Say whatever you want about Tucker but if there was one thing that Chuch had learnt about the guy, it was that he packed a mean punch.

Just thinking about it made Church feel his cheek, where the punch had landed. It still hurt but only a little. "You we're mad at me" Church told, looking over at his aqua coloured teammate. 

Tucker gave him a look that showed how unbelievable he thought that statement was. "I was mad? Thats it!? Not like... not like how THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE!?" 

Church raised an eyebrow. "This hasn't happened before Tucker. If it has, i sure as hell would have remem-"

"No dude! YOU BEING IN AN ASSHOLE HAS HAPPENED BEFORE!" Tucker yelled at his teammate.

Church looked on at Tucker, stunned by the true anger in his voice. Tucker sighed. "Listen, i get people can be assholes SOMETIMES but all the time!? Its flipping annoying! You do it to me, you do it to everyone! You do it to CABOOSE. All he wants to do is impress you and you just can't be impressed for a damn moment! And claiming that ME AND GRIF ARE DATING!? ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS!!" 

"Tucker... are you okay? I didn't think it bothered you this much" Church stated. Just by his voice you could tell that he was shocked. 

Tucker took a deep breath, calming down slightly. "Well it does bother me dude..." Tucker slunched over on the couch. The room wen't silent. Tucker turned to face Church. "He loves you dude, your his best friend. The least you could do is treat him better and stop pretending you don't give a fuck" 

Church sighed. He didn't give a response, his brain still spinning in circles. Luckilly for him, Caboose skipped into the room, having no idea about all the carnage that had just took place. Tucker and Church turned to face the blonde soldier, trying their best to seem happy.

"Hey Church, Tucker! I found Monopoly in the closet. Do any of you want to play?" Caboose asked the two, his face beaming. 

Normally, Church would have said no, but judging by how Tucker was acting he thought the better action would be to comply. "Yeah, yeah. Sure Caboose"

So off the trio went to Cabooses room, ready to play Monopoly! Yet, the whole time, Church had the un-dying feeling that there was something hidden in Tuckers outburst. Why would he get so mad over it? Maybe Church had finally pushed him over the edge, or maybe Church had found Tuckers weak spot... there was something about him claiming Tucker liked Grif that clicked in Tuckers mind. What was it? Church wasn't quite sure, but he'd find out eventually. Now, was just the time to enjoy a nice game of Monopoly.

But now with that thought falling, another one rose. Church sighed. 

'Have i really been THAT much of an Asshole?'


	9. Chapter 8, Agent Washingtub

"CHURCH! TUCKER!" Caboose barged into the dining room, making Church drop his cereal bowl and Tucker choke on his toast. "You would not guess what just happened!"

"Gesus fuck Caboose!" Church yelled, picking up the now slightly cracked cereal bowl. As the milk slowly sunk into the carpet Church groaned. That was going to stain. "What the fuck is going on to make you just barge in here like that and give us all heart attacks!?"

Tucker finally managed to spit out the piece of toast he was choking on. "Yeah, Caboose. What in the fuck is-"

"Washingtub is here!" Caboose cheered. The room fell silent. 

"Oh great" Church was the first to speak. "Mr Uptight"

"Are you sure dude? Because if this is a prank i will literally punch you in the face and drive you over with Shiela" Tucker said, feeling as if it was too good to be true. Church was surprised by Tuckers happiness. I mean, he expected a little enthusiasm but not as much as Tuckers face was revealing.

"Yeah, it is true. Freelancer club doesn't need any more of their informatation. So, they let them go. Now, they're staying with us!" Caboose smiled brightly. Church wanted to correct him when he said 'informatation' but couldn't be bothered. Until suddenly something clicked in his mind...

"Wait... they're?" Church raised an eyebrow. 

"OH RIGHT!" Caboose shouted, remembering another plus in his story. "Carolina is also here!" Church gave a small smile. Carolina, finally someone he could talk too that wasn't an idiot. I mean, sure. Wash wasn't dumb. Yet he and Church didn't get along all that well. "Oh! And they have an A.I with them! Three, they are very nice... wait, one is ish"

"Two? Delta im guessing..." Church shrugged. Caboose nodded.

"Well then whos the other A.Is?" Tucker asked. 

"A thing called York, and Tex!" Caboose replied. Church went wide-eyed. Caboose didn't just say Tex... right?

Whilst Church was lost in his own mind, Tucker scratched his head. "York? Wash told me a lot of stories about that guy. Isn't he dead?" 

"Well, y'know how i fed Epsilon Churchs memories and then he became Church? They found another thingamij and gave it Yorks memories so now they have a new York! I take credit for the idea!" 

"And... Tex?" Church nearly choked on those words. 

"Same thing. Wash figured you might want to see her" Caboose stated.

Church groaned. 'Dick'

\---

"So, York, before meeting these guys i must tell you, they aren't exactly smart..." Washington informed York. "They aren't the most competent of soldiers."

"Hey, i dealt with you for all those years" York gave a cheeky smile. Wash rolled his eyes. 

"Trust me York. These guys are REALLY bad at their job" Carolina interrupted the two. 

"Bad? Worse then that. We once spent an entire day figuring out if Blargh meant yes..." Tex told.

"Blargh?" Wash questioned.

"Tuckers freaky alien baby" Tex explained. 

"Oh"

\---

"SIMMONS!" Sarge yelled at his second in command. 

"Yes sir?" 

"Looks like ol' Washington and Carolina are back!" Sarge stated.

"Oh, thats neat. Why are you telling us though? Theyre not a threat anymore" Simmons raised an eyebrow.

"Its not THEM Simmons. Its who theyre with. A new guy and Tex" Sarge informed. 

"TEX!?" Simmons gasped. Their last encounter with her was not the best. 

"Simmons, i never thought i'd see the day where we would have to set off the alarm and seal the base. But, here it is. Simmons, i need you to get Lopez, Donut and Grif. Maybe not Grif. Y'know we could just leave him outside as the distraction. Get 'em in the base and don't let anyone in. I am not getting my ass kicked today!" 

"Yes sir!" Simmons saluted and went back in the base and gathered red team. 

\---

"Hey, looks like red team have seen us and theyre... sealing the base?" Wash lowered his sniper. 

"Oh, yeah. Those pansies are scared shitless of me" Tex smiled. "I was kinda hoping i'd get to beat 'em up today" 

"Hey, is it just me. Or is that red guy hiding all of his shotguns?" York asked.

"Yes. Yes he is" Wash gave a weak smile. He was happy to be back. Especially considering, he would get to see Tucker again...


	10. Chapter 9, Visiting The Bases

"C'mon guys! Tex is not going to hurt you!" Wash stated trying to get red team to come out of their base. Though, his confidence in the statement was merely a facade. He was not sure if Tex would harm them in some way or not and it was quite clear red base felt the same way.

"Listen, we are NOT moving our bee-hinds out there. Not unless Tex gives us clear, certifyable information herself, that she will not injure us nor kill us" Sarge told. 

Wash turned over to Tex. "Please..?" He whispered.

"Okay, fine" Tex whispered back and stood a little closer to red base making all of red base take a step back. "If you stop sealing the base, i MIGHT not attack you pricks" 

There was a silence.

"Yeah, um, i dont think we're completely comfortable with that answer" Grif protested, breaking the ice. 

Lopez turned ro Grif. [My scanners show a one percent chance she'll not attack us]

"Okaaayyyy...." Tex stretched. "Then how about, you guys all stay in there and i DEFINITELY kick all of your asses" 

*CLICK*

The door opened and red base slowly walked out. Simmons fidgeted with his gun before turning over to Carolina and Wash. "Sooooooo..... how have you two been?" His voice was squeaky. Grif smiled at this. He would always find it cute when Simmons did that. It was not everyday you find someone who when filled with fear and awkwardness would produce a squeaky voice, and bonus, for it to sound cute. 

However, Grif snapped out of his thoughts when he was immediately punched across the face. He turned to discover all of the others on his team had been punched aswell. "Augh..." He felt his head. "What the fuck?"

"Thats for not letting us in Sooner" 

Grif sighed. It was Tex. 

"Welp, should have expected something..." Simmons stated feeling his now bruised cheek. 

"Mmmm, that really hurt, and not in the good way either" Donut said, his smile slightly fading. 

"Hey, i wen't easy on you guys. Well, except for the robot. I went hard on him. Robots are disposable. Like test dummies" Tex cracked her knuckles.

Lopez glared. [Bitch]

Tex turned to face him. [Cockbite]

Lopez gulped, which was something he didn't do very often. York, who had been awkwardly standing about finally brought himself into the conversation. "Have you guys been wondering who i am or...?"

"Nope" Sarge answered sharply. 

"Not really..." Simmons shrugged.

"Kind of actually!" Donut beamed.

"We were more concerned about our lives then you dumbass" Grif told.

[You are Agent York. Hopefully you aren't as annoying as everyone else here. Though for some reason God hates me, so probably you are just as gut wrenchingly awful as the rest]

"Riigghhtt..." York scratched his head. 

"Well, York, me and Wash are gonna check out blue base. You stay here and introduce yourselves to these guys" Carolina smiled, knowing she had just doomed her friend to one of the weirdest interactions he has had with people in a while. Carolina looked over at Tex. "Wanna come?"

"Sure, don't see why not. Might be good to see Church again" Tex said, not really showing as if she cared about the matter at all, though deep inside she cared deeply. She had missed Church. Hopefully, he wouldnt be too mad at her. With all of these concealed thoughts in Texs head, they started making their way to blue base. 

\---

"Church! Tucker! Looks like they're coming over!" Caboose yelled at his teammates as he stared out the window. 

Tuckers face was still beaming. "This is awesome!" Tucker stated, he then looked over at Church who was trying to hide the fact he just shit himself. "Dude, are you okay?"

"Of course! God, you idiots never know how i'm feeling..." Church growled. 

"Woah geez dude, sorry to get on your nerves" Tucker said, though his voice showed no emotion.

"Y'know i am sick of all this fucking abuse! Im going to go in my room!" Church got up and started walking to his room. Trying hard to hide the fact he cared nothing about the quote on quote fight and that he was faking. Tucker rolled his eyes. He knew what had just happened. Church didn't wanna see Tex so by going in his room after a kinda half-assed fight he could just say it was due to the fight he was in his room, and not Tex. 

Glad Church went in his room as he did though because Tucker and Caboose soon stared at the door which had opened with a thud. Wash came in first and instantly looked at Tucker, giving a small wave. Carolina came in second smiling and Tex came in last, a smirk that Tucker would be lying if he said looked completely non-threatening. 

Tex was the first to speak. "Sup Assholes"


	11. Chapter 10, History

When Tex, Carolina and Wash had come in, the conversations had been pretty basic. Just simple hellos, how are you doings and other boring stuff like that. Tucker had been enthusiastic but after a while resorted to talking in his usual manner, as did Wash, despite how they felt. Tex mainly joined on Tucker and Washs antics, leaving Carolina alone with Caboose. Carolina was not happy with this.

Yet, after a while Tex came to the realisation something was missing. As Tucker was making some stupid joke about sex (what else) Tex interupted with a slightly threatening gaze. "Hey, wheres Church?" 

"Oh, him?" Tucker thought for a moment. At first, he wanted to not tell Tex, thats what Church would want...BUT he wasn't going to risk his life for that cunt. Tucker sighed. "Church is in his room..."

"Right. I'll be right back guys" Tex gave a small wave and began making her way to Churchs room. She knew he was hiding from her. It wasn't like Tucker and Caboose wouldn't state her arrival, ESPECIALLY hers. 

As Tex got to the door it was just as it had been the last time she'd seen it. Covered in 'go away' signs and action movie posters that looked like they were made in just five seconds. She gave a small knock. No answer. She knocked again. No answer. She knocked again. This continued for a while until-

"Okay, if this is you Tucker i am not coming out. SO STOP FUCKING KNOCKING!" Church screeched from behind the door. 

Tex smiled. Same old Church. "Its me dumbass" 

"Oh, uh, Tex. Hi" It went silent for a while. 

"Can i come in?" Tex asked.

"Yeah, um, maybe not. You see, i have got a really bad cold and i wouldn't want you to catch it. Y'know hay fever crap and all that shit. So, how about, you go hang around with everyone else, and leave me the fuck alone" Church said, slowly falling apart with every word. "Just, dont want you to get sick. In this season too, you'll be fucked up. I mean-"

"I know your avoiding me Church" Tex told. "Just, let me in okay? I want to apologise" 

Church knew he would regret this but he still got up and walked over to the door. He took a deep breath and opened the doors to reveal her. As predicted, he regretted it. Her bright blonde hair tied up in a perfect ponytail. Her boots and military coated clothing as eye catching as before. He was falling for her just like before...

"Hey... Tex" It felt as though his whole mouth was drying up. 

"Listen, Church. I want to apologise. I know i shouldn't have but i still... ugh i hate this. Listen can you just forgive me? I've missed you okay? I am a terrible girlfriend..." There was true sadness in her voice. Church could tell. 

Wait a minute... Church stared. Girlfriend, oh right... Church had forgotten they were a thing. Were? Are. He didn't know. Everyone else didn't consider them dating anymore, but according to Tex she sure as hell did. What would Church say? We aren't dating, since when, everything sounded stupid in Churchs mind. Whats strange is, years ago this would have been lovely for Church to hear. But now..?

"What's wrong?" Tex asked.

"Its just..." Church clenched his fists, but not out of anger, to try to push himself to say those very next words. "We aren't dating anymore"

Tex went wide eyed. She seemed surprised. Suddenly, she scratched her head. "Well, we haven't seen eachother for a long time i guess, but have you seen anyone?" Tex questioned.

Church frowned. He had been single for ages excluding Tex. Then again, he was pretty sure no one else in this god forsaken canyon had dated anyone at all, so he still topped number one. "Um..." Church groaned. "No"

"Have you thought about it?" 

"Well..." Church paused. Had he? Not really. It wasn't something he usually thought about. "I suppose not?"

"Have you had a crush on anyone?"

"N-no..." Church scratched his head.

"Then c'mon Church" Tex offered her hand. "I've missed you" 

Church gulped, staring at Texs hand. Should he take it? He hadn't really considered dating anyone else... or had he? Maybe subconciously but that didn't count. On a sidenote, what would his friends think? He'd told them that he had gave up on Tex. Church sighed. He had to. This is everything he ever wanted... right?

Church took her hand. To his suprise he was pulled in for a kiss. It was abrupt and short, making it hardly noticeable that Church didn't kiss back. Church convinced himself he was just a bit ticked off and thats why it felt different. Things would go back to normal in no time... it had too.

\---

"Well, this has been a nice chat but i need to go see Carolina. Seeya" York waved goodbye and started walking away from the sim troopers. He didn't really need to see Carolina, he was just trying to get away from the reds.

"Bye dumbass" Grif said, before getting a cigarette out of his pocket.

"GRIF!" Simmons shouted. "You're not allowed to smoke on blood gulcu grounds!" 

"Yeah, but we're not fighting the blues anymore so, i'm gonna smoke" Grif lit the cigarette up, to Simmons dismay. "Technically, Blood Gulch grounds has changed anyway"

"GRIF!" The bickering between him and Simmons continued leaving Donut smiling. They are so made for eachother! Theres gotta be someway i can get them to hook up...hold on!

[Would you guys stop fighting? For christs sake you are loud] Lopez said, trying to break up the fight.

"Hey guys! Guess what!" Donut exclaimed out of nowhere. The two stopped bickering.

"What donut?" Simmons raised an eyebrow. 

"I'm throwing a Christmas party!"


	12. Chapter 11, Christmas Party?

It had just been a couple seconds after Donut had announced his plan for a christmas party. Lopez, Grif and Simmons giving him confused glances. "But Donut, its no where near Christmas..." Simmons informed. 

"Oh c'mon Simmons" Donut put an arm around the soldier. "Whenever it IS christmas we never celebrate it!" Donut reminded. Simmons thought for a moment. That technically was true. All that usually happened back when they were fighting was maybe a little 'merry christmas' and that was it! (Sometimes not even that) 

"Wait a minute!" Grif interrupted Simmons thoughts. "What about that time Command sent us to that fucked up frozen wasteland to get in the holiday spirit?" Grif questioned.

Donut blinked several times. "I don't remember that" 

"Oh riigghhtt... you weren't there! It was just me and Grif i think" Simmons told.

Donut furrowed his eye brows. "Okay, now we definitely have to throw a christmas party!" 

"What, wh-"

"BECAUSE YOU CELEBRATED WITHOUT ME!" Donut growled, removing his arm from around Simmons shoulder. He took a deep breath and once again began smiling at his companions. "Listen, this isn't for debate. We are throwing a Christmas party or my name isn't Franklin delano donut. Now, i need tinsel, a tree and a bajillion lights" Donut instructed. 

"But Donut, where are we going to find-" 

Donut pressed a finger over Simmons lips. "This isn't for debate Simmons! Now, you go get some christmas lights" As Grif and Lopez were about to interrupt Donut covered their mouths. "Grif, you go get the tree, Lopez, get the tinsel!" Grif turned over to Simmons and mumbled, you have to get fucking lights and i have to get a massive tree? Simmons smirked and chuckled a little. Lopez may have even laughed a little. May.

"What is happening up here men!" Sarge walked up to them all. "Can anyone tell me what all this flabberjabbing is about?" Sarge questioned.

"Donut is throwing a christmas party..." Grif stated. It was silent for a while. 

"I repeat! Can anyone tell me whats the flabberjabbing about? Simmons?" Sarge turned to his second in command. 

Grif glared. "I just fucking tol-"

"Donut is hosting a christmas party sir!" Simmons informed. 

Sarge looked horrified. "Christmas?" At this point, everyone except for Donut figured Sarge would be against Christmas. However, their expectations were luckilly crumbled when Sareg chuckled a little. "Glad to see you soldiers are doing Red Team duties without even needing to be instructed! I'm so proud!" If Sarge had been wearing his helmet, red team would have sworn that he'd cried. 

"Really sir?" Simmons smiled excitedly. Grif rolled his eyes. Grif figured everytime Sarge said anything about being proud, Simmons would instantly be entitled to make sure that was the case. 

"Why of course Simmons!" Sarge said, clearly suprised. "Its always good to bring remembrance to past red soldiers. Jolly old saint nick was one of the greatest reds ever! Coming to itty bitty reds houses and giving them presents whilst giving coal to them naughty blues!" Sarge turned to Grif. "Well, maybe not all reds"

"Hey! I didn't get coal!" Grif retaliated. The others raised their eyebrows at him. "Okay, maybe i did get coal once or twice but not everytime!" 

Simmons looked over at Donut. "Anyways, where the FUCK are we going to find christmas decor in a box canyon in the middle of nowhere?" 

"Oh Simmons!" Donut laughed a little. "I'm sure Command wouldn't mind dropping of some! I'll just go place an order right now. Its as simple as that!" 

"Are you su-" 

"Yup!" Donut walked off to a private area, flicking a switch on his helmet. "Command? Command?" Donut was a little concerned they wouldn't pick up. Doc had told him the communications tower was down. Hopefully they had managed to fix it in time for his call. 

"Wha- hello? Who the fuck is this?"

"Hey, this is Franklin Delano Donut. Is this command?" 

"Command? What the fuck do you want! Wait, what did you say that name was?" 

"Franklin. Delano. Donut" Donut told, putting emphasis on each word. 

"Franklin. Delano. Donut" There was a silence for a while. Suddenly the person talking burst out laughing. "Daniel! Guess what! Commands on the other end, and guess what the guy they've put me on with is called? FRANKLIN DELANO DONUT" 

"We need Christmas supplies ASAP. Can you do that?" Donut questioned. They were too busy talking on the other end. "I SAID, WE NEED CHRISTMAS SUPPLIES ASAP"

"Oh what? You need us?" The person asked on the other end. 

"YES. This is outpost 17 and we need-" 

"How important is it? We kinda have a mini fridge on the way so..."

"Pretty important!" 

"Fine, we'll be there. What about red team?" 

"Huh?" 

"Do we bring red team?"

"Are they your buds?"

"More or less" 

"Sure. Christmas decor, all the way!"

"Thats a weird catchphrase... we'll be right there!"

The signal shut down. "That went well" Donut smiled. He walked back to his friends. "Its on the way!" 

"Wait, the communication tower is down, isn't it?" Simmons asked. Donut shook his head. "Are you sure that it was Command? It could have short circuited to another wireless connection. Like a different command, another communication tower or even another red and blue-" 

"Oh don't be so paranoid Simmons" Donut shrugged. "I doubt it short circuited. Lucks on my side!"

"Luck?" 

"Luck" 

\---

"Do you want to tell the others?" Tex questioned.

"Tell 'em what?" Church turned to his girlfriend. 

"That we're dating again" Tex stated, a little irritated. 

"Maybe not now. Let's just wait..." Church suggested. Tex nodded and they joined Carolina and Wash once again. Throughout the conversations each person picked up atleast once on eachothets off behavior. Tucker picked up on Churchs slight depression and how he seemed to not be concentrating while Church picked up on Tucker and Washs interactions. Things were fine, until...

\---

*CRASH*

"We're here!" 

"We figured that..."

"Diancie is pleased"

"Im pleased too miss"

"Me to- ow why'd you hit me?"

"Could you guys stop?" 

"Oh crap. I think i forgot my taco"

"Don't worry. I made tons on the way here!" 

"Lets just go! Yeehaw! We're needed!"


	13. Chapter 12, Unwelcomed Guests

*CRASH*

"We're here!" 

"We figured that..."

"Diancie is pleased"

"Im pleased too miss"

"Me to- ow why'd you hit me?"

"Could you guys stop?" 

"Oh crap. I think i forgot my taco"

"Don't worry. I made tons on the way here!" 

"Lets just go! Yeehaw! We're needed!" 

One by one the soldiers lept out the airship. When they got out they all looked at one particular soldier. A soldier with dark grey armor. "So, Mike. Your the one who said they needed us here, right? What did they need us for..?" Zachary asked, confused. 

"Calm down man-"

"Im a fucking girl! Thats why i wore the pink armor!" 

"Oh Zachary" Diancie laughed a little. "I, Diancie, can clearly see that is lightish red" 

Zachary groaned. Mike rolled his eyes. "Guys, concentrate! Franklin... Delano... Donut" Mike nearly passed out laughing with every word. "Needs... us..."

"With what? You never said!" Neon questioned. 

"Well..." Mike sighed. "They never told us"

"Hey guys" Jay said, nervous. "Did you also get the roster to what soldiers live here?" 

"Yeah of course" Mike informed. "It says, lets see. Dexter Grif, Michael J Caboose, Agent Washington, Sar"

"AGENT WASHINGTON!" Jay freaked. "Oh god no. He isn't gonna be happy to see me" 

\---

"Did you hear that?" Washington asked. 

"Yep. Looks like someones crashed in Blood Gulch" Carolina told.

"Is it dangerous?" Caboose questioned.

"Well, might aswell kick some ass today" Tex cracked her knuckles.

They all turned towards her. Church was the first to speak. "What are you going to do?"

"Kick some ass" Tex replied. "I just said that" She added in an irritated tone.

\---

[That was fast] Lopez remarked, staring at the airship. 

"What can i say? Christmas is first priority!" Donut placed his hands on his hips.

[Its not even Christmas]

"Lets go meet them!" Donut laughed. He held Lopezs arms and ran for it. It could have just been a trick of the light but Grif (who had been leaning against the wall) could have sworn he'd seen Lopez blush.

\---

"This is a wonderful wonderful wonderful gulch!" Honey-Lemon stated. "I could just eat it all up like lovey dovey sandwiches! What do you think Zachary?"

"I think its shit" Zachary said. 

"I know! So wonderful!" Honey-Lemon smiled brightly.

"Hey, whos that?" Neon asked, pointing to Tex who was staring at them from the hill. She slowly made her way down ready to beat some serious ass. "Shes kind of scaring me"

"You should be scared" Tex chuckled clutching her gun. "Ready to get your ass beaten?"

Mike groaned. "Oh shit."

They all aimed their guns at Tex. Cross looked over at Leo. "Um, do you remember the safety protocol?"

"Yes. Remember too-"

"Your a freaking nerd!" Cross laughed. Leo sighed, glaring at his comrade. "But seriously, what do you do in a situation like this? I never cared enough to read it"

"Hmm.." Leo rested a hand on his chin, pretending to think. "You go up to her"

"Thanks man" Cross went up to Tex, making Leo smirk. "Hey lady, state your name"

Before Cross had any time to think he was instantly punched to the floor and thrown at Leo. After that, Tex ran up and knocked over Daniel and Mike. Neon gasped. "Mike! Daniel! Thats it, feel the pain of my name!" Neon jumped on Tex screaming. "AAAAAAAAAAH!" 

Tex pushed her backwards making her trip on Honey-Lemon and shoot a bullet at Mackenzie. Mackenzie ducked. "What are y'all doing? Just beat her up like a damn alien!" Tex threw her gun at Mackenzie, making it knock her over. Zachary decided to run away to one of the bases leaving Diancie to sit and watch. All that was left was Jay. 

"U-um... hey miss!" Jay stuttered. Tex rushed towards him. "Neon i need you to concentrate!" 

"On it!" Neon yelped. Suddenly a force field appeared around Jay making Tex knock herself out. Wash, Church and Carolina looked over the hill at the sight. 

"A forcefield? How did they obtain that?" Carolina asked. 

"Who the fuck are they is the bigger question!" Church stated.

"Wait a minute..." Wash stared at the soldier that was surrounded by the force field. "Agent Nebraska?"


	14. Chapter 13, Jingle Bells

After Church had managed to get Tex to calm down, the group of soldiers were checked out by Carolina and Tucker. They weren't exactly injured but many had some minor bruises. There were scars, but the team had confirmed it was from a separate incident. This of course made Carolina concerned, thinking about what the hell could have made such marks. As for Wash, he was engaging in conversation with the soldier he called Nebraska.

They seemed to be somewhat arguing.

Neon, Tucker and Honey-Lemon watching from afar. Suddenly, Tucker turned to face them. "What the fuck is up with them?"

A small pop was heard from Neon's helmet as well as chewing noises (Which Tucker later discovered to be bubblegum) before she spoke. "Dunno. Nebraska COULD know him. He knows a lot about many people. He was a freelancer!"

"No shit" Tucker growled. Go figure, every time some god forsaken thing happens in this canyon a freelancer would always have to be involved somewhere. Wait a second...  "On a sidenote, why the fuck are you strangers here?" 

"Oh, we received a signal or whatever from a guy called Donut. A stress signal-"

"Yeah! And we couldn't just let an innocent man die in this place. We haddy haddy had to do SOMETHING" Honey-Lemon interrupted.

Tucker raised an eyebrow. "A stress signal? But why the fuck would Do-"

"Attention men!" Donut skipped down the cliff with Lopez. "I am the one who brought you here. Franklin Delano Donut! I command you on your assistance and wish now to see the Jingle Bells!"

[Do you have to skip?]

"Jingle... bells?" Mike stared.

"Yeah. Don't you remember? I asked for Christmas décor. Aren't you command?" Donut asked. The group stayed silent. They gave each other hand signals and wandered back into the air ship. They got into a huddle, all except for Nebraska. He was still with Wash.

Now that they were in huddle mode, Zachary spoke, her voice down to a whisper. "Mike, what the fuck? You told us this was a distress signal!"

Cross glared. "Yeah! I missed the new episode of-"

"Wait, you told me that blue team stole my televisi- ow!" Leo felt his knee, due to the fact Cross had just kicked him. "What was that for!?"

"Diancie recommends we stop arguing and move onto separate matters. Like what thy soldiers are going to do next?" Diancie commented.

"I say we don't disappoint them! I would hatey hate hate to see them upset!" Honey-Lemon told. "It would just be ol' mr devastating to see their faces!"

"There's got to be something in here we can pass off as Christmas décor right? Just give them that!" Zachary informed, and with that they all begun searching the ship.

\---

Tucker was watching Jay and Wash. It looked like Wash was mad, Jay on the other hand seemed quite upset. Tucker decided to intervene. As he got closer, he begun to hear what they were saying and started to eavesdrop.

"How the fuck were you not in jail?" Tucker heard Wash yell. "You did the same things as me, it makes little to no sense!"

"I don't know! I just-" 

"This is exactly like before. You are fine, I never am. YET, I always do more things for them then you ever did" Wash scolded. "All cause you were the Directors nephew!" Tucker stopped. He couldn't have heard that correctly... did he?

\---

"Alright, Donut. We come with décor!" Zachary announced. She plopped a couple shotguns and a copy of the Lego movie in front of them. 

"What is this?" Donut questioned. "This isn't décor..."

"FUCK, HE'S SMARTER THAN US!" Donut heard Cross yell from inside the ship. 

"SHUT UP CROSS!" Zachary shouted. "Um... they are Christmas décor just... you gotta think!" She motioned to her brain. "For the shotguns... um, do you take shots on Christmas?"

All was quiet. "Sure, why not" Carolina shrugged. 

"Exactly! Shot as in shotgun! As for the... Lego movie?"

"Oh shit!" Neon ran out of the ship and grabbed it. She ran back. 

"The Lego movie... was never there. Any questions?" Zachary looked up. 

"A few-" Zachary covered Donuts mouth.

"None. Right on!" Zachary gave a thumbs up. She then looked over at Nebraska. "Hey, Jay! Hurry up fucktard! We're leaving!" 

"We are?" Nebraska asked. He turned to see Wash trying his best not to glare. This kind of intimidated Nebraska. "We are..." 

Before you knew it, they were all in the ship and off on their way. Donut picked up one of the shotguns. "Well that was a bust, talk about shady business-ship. Right Lopez?"

[Actually, shotguns could be most valuable]

"Exactly!" Donut pouted. "A bust!"

\---

"Okay, now that we're all here I think we can say one thing..." Zachary smirked but quickly frowned. "What the fuck Mike?" 

"What?"

"You said it was a stress signal. That was far from it and know we're low on shotguns!" 

"Hey, I-"

"I bet it was all so you could have that so called adventure you've been claiming to want, right?" Zachary remarked before crossing her arms.

"Hey where's..." Cross scratched his head.

"...Mackenzie" Leo finished.

They all stayed silent. Zachary sighed. "Fuck"

\---

Caboose awoke from being asleep on the couch. A face staring at him. A woman with bright blonde hair and rosy cheeks. Countless scars on her face. "Cabby? Is that you?" She couldn't believe it.

It took almost a full second for Caboose to realise who this was... and a full five minutes to comprehend it. Suddenly, Caboose jumped up, full of energy and bright to hug her. "Cousin!"

"Wowza! You've grown bigger then a trex in a fighting hen. So 6'1! How you been? Haven't seen ya since cous weekly. Standard edition mounts row. I been catching up to make gold chain issue. Anyways, hows life been for you?" Mackenzie smiled brightly. "Oh..." She calmed down slightly. "I never thought i'd see you again!" 

"I MUST TELL YOU THINGS!" Caboose was energetic. He wasn't happy the most because his cousin was back, or that she remembered him after all these years, no. He was happy now because he finally had someone he could tell things too about his problems and such. How dumb Tucker was, how sometimes his friends called him names and...

...and Church.


	15. Chapter 14, Cousin

Church began walking back to the base to check on Caboose. Carolina and Tex were trying to convince Donut to hand up the weapons over to Command whilst Donut was telling them they might aswell accept the decor they were given while Lopez... Lopez was saying something, honestly Church couldn't care less. As Church got to the door though he begun to hear muffled talking beyond it. Ones voice he instantly realised was Cabooses and as for the other one he didn't really know. Out of curiosity, Church opened the door to see Caboose talking with someone on the couch. 

"Um... Caboose... who the fuck is this?" Church spoke up, gaining the attention of the two before him.

They looked over. Caboose looking how he always did (messy blonde hair and bright blue eyes) and the stranger showing off her look. She had blonde hair aswell, quite similair to Cabooses actually, that went over her shoulders. She had a couple scars on her face too, some quite minor though others were far from it being large and looked painful making Church wonder how she got them. As for height, she was quite similair to Cabooses, tall but not TOO tall so it wouldn't make her look out of place. Suddenly, Church snapped out of his thoughts. Oh god, he had been staring at her...

Caboose, noticing that Church was in an akward situation intervened. "Church, this is my cousin, Mackenzie!" 

"COUSIN!?" Church screeched. Caboose had not told him he had a cousin and on more important notes, how was she here? Wait, was she on the ship..? She could have been, Church remembered seeing someone like her come off. "I, uh, good to meet you Mackenzie?" Church offered his hand.

Mackenzie perked up, jumping off the couch and grabbing his hand that was offered, shaking it wildly. "Good to meet you Church! Caboose has told me so much about ya. You sure have been in a lot of bee nest situations! Am i right? Im right. So, like Cous said, im Mackenzie. Mackenzie J. Caboose if ya wanna be formal flies. Though, i like Mackenzie better, alright hun?" Mackenzie stopped shaking Churchs hand. 

Well... Church sighed. Looks like craziness runs in the family. 

"You guys are going to be great friends. Though, not best friends!" Caboose smiled. "That spots taken..." 

Church rolled his eyes which Mackenzie picked up on. "Hmmmm, hey hun, why dont me and ya have a little private as prairy dogs chat?" Mackenzie asked. Church raised an eyebrow. "Y'know, uh... a chat just between me and ya, got that hun?" 

Church nodded. "Okkaaayyy...." 

Caboose smiled at them as Mackenzie grabbed Church by the arm and pulled him into a seperate room. Making sure Caboose couldn't hear them, she closed the door and turned to face Church glaring. "Alright hun, what was that?" 

"What was what?" Church questioned.

"You rolled your rolling rabbit eyes at my cous, just when he called you his best as birdied friend. May i ask why whale guy?" Mackenzie asked. 

"Listen, alright?" Church started pacing around the room. "When we came to this god forsaken canyon i never asked to be his best friend. He just clung to me like i was a light and he was a moth. So i reccomend... not getting on my fucking case okay?" Church snapped. 

Mackenzie looked disgusted, placing her hands on her hips. "Church, i demand that you treat Caboose like hes you best of bubblegum friend and actually become his bestie beesie friend okay?" Mackenzie growled. 

Church looked confused. "And if i dont?" 

Mackenzie picked Church up by his collar making his feet soar above the ground. It was at this moment that Church discovered why yet another thing that ran in Cabooses family. Strength. "Because if ya dont..." Mackenzie gave him a death glare, chuckling as she did so. "I'll fuck you up Asshole"

And with that, she plopped Church back on the ground. Church was trying his best to not look like he shit his pants but was failing miserably. "So, uh, yeah ill do what you said..." 

"Neat as Nitpicks mr. Leonard!" Mackenzie bowed. 

Church stared. "How did you know my name was Leonard? Did Caboose tell you..?" 

"Oh, nah" Mackenzie gave a hand motion. "Ah' can just tell. After all, being an A.I. with the directors memories must declare that ya go by his namely name. Judging by that rolls royce reaction ah' was right!"

Church blinked several times. "Okay, Caboose had to tell you that!" 

"Nope! Ah' just figured it was obvious..." Mackenzie smiled cheekily before walking put the room.

Leaving Church behind, who was now confused. "What the fuck?"

\---

"Are you sure you saw Lopez blush?" Simmons asked. "I mean, isn't he a robot? Can he even feel emotions?" 

"Listen dude, i know what i saw. Donut grabbed his arm and he fucking blushed. I wasn't seeing things!" Grif told.

"Private Grif, i think we can all see whats happening here and we are absolutely devastated!" Sarge said, trying his best not to smile. "All that food you've eaten fatass has finally taken a toll on your health. You're... my god... you're-"

"Oh god no..." Grif facepalmed.

"-Dying!" Sarge announced. 

Grif groaned. "I'm not fucking dying!" Grif was honestly a little offended. Mostly because he wasn't fat anymore and had been slacking on the food, despite what it may seem like. 

"We'll have to throw a funeral and everything!" Sarge frowned.

"Sir, thats terrible!" Simmons interrupted.

"Of course it is Simmons, we'll be wasting valuable time and resources with a funeral for Grif! How terrible indeed..." Sarge shook his head. "Private Grif, how do you feel about skipping the funeral and just dying now?"

"I'M NOT FUCKING DYING!" Grif snapped. 

"Sides sir, the funeral takes place after someone dies, not before" Simmons informed.

"What about when you threw that funeral for me ages ago? I wasn't dead yet!" Sarge reminded.

Simmons and Grif began whistling, distracting themselves from remembering that day. Oh god, that was such a mess... how could you even word it?

"Good times..." Sarge smiled fondly. "Hey Simmons?"

"Yes sir?" 

Sarge scratched his head. "Even though i didn't like Grif, should i bring flowers to the funera-"

"I AM NOT FUCKING DEAD!"


	16. Chapter 15, Party Planning

Donut bit on the pencil, examining the brochure. "Lets see... a christmas tree, well duh!" Donut ticked the square box. "Cranberry sauce... too saucy! Christmas lights, yes-indeedy!" Donut kept on reading the brochure, ticking and crossing a few things here and there. He kept on mumbling a few things before Lopez walked into the room.

[What are you doing? I'm trying to charge up. Its like, midnight, and now even YOU can tell because the moons finally fucking out so i don't have to tell you]

"Oh, hi Lopez" Donut turned to face him. "I'm just going over plans for the Christmas Party. I don't know why i didn't do this sooner! Mum always did say that you see the wrong before the right" He smiled.

[Christmas Party? Oh, that. You're still doing that shit?]

"Trust me Lopez, this christmas party is going to be off the hook. Great food, great friends and a great cover!" Donut announced. He placed the pamphlet and the pencil down on the coffee table admiring his work and choices. 

[Yeah, yeah. Wait. What the fuck do you mean cover?]

"Oh Lopez!" Donut stood up and put an arm around Lopez. "By cover i mean my secret scheme!" Donut darted his eyes around dramatically at those last two words. Lopez smiled, but then again he always did when Donut had those moments of understanding him. "I'm guessing you wanna know what my scheme is?"

Lopez nodded. [Whatever, sure, go ahead]

"Okay!" Donut smirked but it quickly became a frown. A serious, stern frown. Honestly, Lopez was a little concerned at the unfamiliar sight. "I see whats going on in this canyon. I pick up on little things because i am a matchmaking genius. Due to this, it makes me so sad not seeing my friends with their true lovers. So, this christmas party i'm pulling out the romantic christmas lights, spin the bottle, mistletoe" Donut was counting his fingers as he told that. "Everything!" He gave a large hand motion. "An attempt to get them to hook up! Like i always say, if your gonna do something, you gotta make it big!"

[So, you're planning to make everyone in a romantic relationship? And due to the gender ratio in this canyon majority would be gay... interesting. How about, no. Listen idiot, none of the guys in this canyon are gay. Have you met Tucker yet? And it doesn't help that the only two women in this place are absolute bitches]

Donut sighed. "Tut, tut, tut, Lopez. Pencils aren't romantic!"

Lopez groaned. There he goes misunderstanding him again. [You know what, never mind. Go ahead, throw this party and be disapointed. I'm going to keep re-charging moron]

"You're right Lopez. I need more wine on the party equipment list. Red to be precise!" Donut stated. Lopez walked out and into his room, closing the door. It had taken a lot of convincing to get Sarge to give him a personal room. Mainly because Sarge couldn't understand him. Oh what joy it was to be a robot no one could understand!

Lopez laid on his bed tired. Usually, he would pray tomorrow would be different. That the reds and blues would stop being stupid and shitty. But now? He wouldn't have it any other way. He liked this as weird as it was to say. He liked the reds, the blues. Well, not Tex. Somethings never change. Most of all though, he liked Donut. He was fun, out there and exciting. He brang joy into Lopezs life. Lopez figured it was cause he was the only one who spoke atleast a lick of spanish... well sides Tex. Yeah, Tex was a bitch. 

Lopez sighed, puffed up his pillow (which Grif still argued is useless to a robot and should be given to him) and drifted off to sleep or well, in recharge mode. Tomorrow was another day...

\---

Carolina and York decided to sleep on the ship, claiming that blue base was too small for all of them and kinda cramped. Though everyone could tell they were kind of glad when no one else agreed with them and decided to stay at blue base, leaving the two to be alone in the aircraft. When they left, they all decided to watch a movie. As for Mackenzie, Tucker, Wash and all that besides Church and Caboose still didn't know she was here. She had just decided to go to bed early in the spare room, so to the majority she was still a mystery. Now, back to the movie choice they'd make. 

Caboose wanted to watch The Carebears Movie which only got two pity votes from Church and Wash. Tucker suggested resovoir dogs but Church, Tex and Caboose informed they had watched that way too much in the canyon anyways, Wash however did vote for it suspecting it was good because of Tuckers description. Church wanted Ride Along or Ride Along two, but Wash said it was routine that they would have to watch both giving a long description with many debates, Church got quite pissed when no one voted for it (Besides Caboose) cause of said description. Tex requested any horror movie but no one voted whispering to Tex Caboose was... too young despite being the same age as the rest of them. Wash didn't really care what they did so he didn't pitch in an idea.

However, all of the group facepalmed when it came to the conclusion. Wash and Church pity-voting actually decided what they were going to watch. Oh god... Church groaned. They were going to have to sit through CareBears. Nobody disagreed because well, fucking democracy. Except for Tex.

"Yeah, um sorry Caboose but we can't watch this" Tex told.

"Why?" Caboose asked. "We voted and it won. Everytime you go against democracecy a beagle dies" 

"DemoCRACY and you mean Eagle" Church corrected. 

"Right!" Caboose smiled. 

"Listen, we aren't five year olds. Are you a five year old?" Tex questioned.

Caboose stayed silent for a while, trying to remember his age. "No"

"Then we aren't watching it" Tex grabbed the CareBears movie and put it on a nearby cupboard. Caboose was clearly confused. She pulled put another dvd case from her pocket. It didn't even take a second for Church to realise it was a horror. One he watched with Tex years ago. It had taken him years to not get scared of it. 

When Tex made eye contact with him he hinted to Caboose with his eyes, trying to tell her it was too scary but she didn't exactly care. Church was honestly a little surprised. "Tex" He mouthed. 

She rolled her eyes. "He's not a baby Church. He's older then Wash"

Tucker chuckled a bit when Wash turned around embarassed. Despite appearances, Wash was one of the youngest in the group. Only older then Simmons and Doc. Atleast thats what he said. He tugged at his pajama collar. "I'm still smarter..." he mumbled. Tucker rolled his eyes and laughed, throwing a pillow at him.

Tex pushed the dvd in the dvd player before Church could say anything more. He turned to Caboose who was still upset they weren't watching the CareBears Movie. Suddenly, they heard a yawn from the spare room. Everyone but Caboose jumped a little, even Church was a little startled despite knowing what it was. 

Mackenzie walked through the door to see them, hair messy clearly showing she was the kind of sleeper to move alot. She wasn't wearing pajamas but instead a large shirt with the writing 'Explosions Equal Results' on it. Church figured Sarge would agree with that logic. Mackenzie rubbed her eyes and stared at Caboose. "Hey C. My..." Mackenzie yawned again, quite tired. "My... my cousin custard instincts came to me. Somethings happenin' im just gathering. Came to check on you like a beagle. Whats up?"

Caboose was about to speak before he, Church and Tucker were pushed down as Tex grabbed a gun from her pocket and aimed it at the stranger. "HOLY SHIT!" Church got up and stood between her and Mackenzie. "Tex, what the fuck!?" 

"Church?" Tex raised an eyebrow. 

"Oh yeah... forgot you guys didn't know..." Church smiled akwardly, taking in mind Tucker and Washs faces which was priceless before he continued. "Tex, this is Mackenzie..."

"My cousin!" Caboose boomed. 

Tucker shrugged just seeming to accept it before Wash started leaning down and whispering to Tucker why he wasn't asking any questions before getting up off the couch to meet Cabooses cousin. "Hi... Mackenzie?" Wash scratched his head letting out a hand.

Mackenzie grinned shaking it wildly which startled Wash making him go wide-eyed. It reminded Church of when he met Mackenzie actually. When Mackenzie let go she put an arm around Wash. "Good day to you Washingtub! Nice meet'n a new feline friend. Kind of getting sick of those ol' non as nitpick friends. Do you dissy-like 'em too Washingtub or are you a frenemie frolicker in the woods of buggie soldiers" Mackenzie leaned closer to Wash, slightly scaring him. 

"What?" Wash asked, not quite catching all of it. (And even if he did wouldn't mean he exactly understand what she said anyway)

"Not a listener eh'? No biggsie!" Mackenzie shrugged. "I deal with Daniel all the time. Yar like him a lot actually sir Washingtub. Well, he is slightly coping with existing at the moment so thats a doggy difference. Do you contemplate life?" She asked. 

"Um... what do you mean?" Wash stood back.

Tucker, feeling the urge to rescue Wash and pin Mackenzie on someone else interrupted. "Oh... do you mean all that 'Why Are We Here?' Bullshit? You should see Church for that" Tucker said, looking over at Church who now was giving him the middle finger.

"Fuck you" 

"Fuck me? Gladly" Tucker smirked resting his head on the couch, leaving Church speechless. Wash shook his head smiling. Tucker was always good at those quick time remarks. 

"Well, um, Mackenzie... we were just going to watch a horror-"

"Caboose is in the room bitch" Mackenzie stated. Everyone a little shocked besides Caboose. "Caboose doesn't like horror you motherfucker" She opened the dvd player and pulled out the horror film. "How expensive was this ass whore?" 

Tex glared. "Pretty expen-"

Tex shut up when her horror film dvd was crumpled into a little ball and thrown in the trash in a matter of five seconds. Mackenzie wiped her hands on her shirt and patted Tex on the back. "I'll pay ya back hun" She turned to Caboose. "Bye cous, im'a go hit the hay like a hero in a haywire action film!" 

"Okay cousin!" Caboose smiled as she walked back into the spare room and shut the door. He noticed everyones confused glances and shrugged. "Um... my cousin can be a little protective of me... sometimes"

"We noticed" Church snarled.

"Duuuuddddeeesss...." Tucker said out of nowhere, clutching his pillow. "Tex just got owned by a relative of fucking Caboose!" 

"TUCKER!" Not long after that statement Tex threw the tv remote at Tucker hitting him in the face. 

"Augh. Shit!" 

"Thats what you get" Wash smiled at Tucker. 

"Yeah, yeah Asshole whatever" Tucker sighed giving a hand motion.

"Well, now what can we watch?" Tex asked.

"I know a film!" Caboose raised his hand. "It starts with a C... and ends with a T... wait..." 

Before long they ended up watching the Carebears Movie which Wash may have kind of enjoyed but mainly because of Nostalgia, as for the others to pass the time they did a drinking game everytime there was a song...

They got very drunk.

Caboose though just smiled the whole time and as much as Church would hate to admit it, he LOVED seeing Caboose smile, or maybe that was just the booze talking. Probably the booze. Most definitely. Obviously. Completely because of the booze. Well, thats what Tex would say anyway...

Everything was great and it seemed like a great night.

\---

[Huh?] Lopez opened one of his eyes. 

"GET UP SLEEPY HEAD! I NEED YOUR HELP WITH THE PARTY!" Lopez jumped out of bed as Donut entered his vision, a massive smile plastered on his face.

[What the fuck!?]


	17. Chapter 16, Code Red

When morning came Tex and Wash had to go back to the airship to gather their stuff, this left Tucker quite disapointed but didn't mind it after a while. They were thinking about what to have for breakfast. Originally, they wanted Caboose to make pancakes again but Mackenzie said she could do it instead. After all, though it was Granmas recipe Mackenzie was the one who managed to teach Caboose. As she was cooking though Church wanted to know more about her and Cabooses family life and now was the perfect time. Especially considering Caboose and Tucker were playing Mouse Trap in the next room over at the moment.

"So... Mackenzie" Church turned to face her, trying to think of a good question to ask her first. "Whats the rest of Cabooses family like?" 

"The rest of 'em?" Mackenzie flipped a pancake. "They're fine as fiddlefords i guess.... noth'n special. I mean, Cous looks on the bright side a' things all the time which i've admired as much as Adams Apples on a Sunday feast but... a' dont see how he can smile at some of them' things" 

Church raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" 

"Well..." Mackenzie sighed. "Our families weren't the best. Caboose a'specially. Ol' uncle Daimen and Auntie Elaine hated eachother. Trust me, lots ah' yelling" Mackenzie told. "As for me? My papa wanted a boy. Ah' dont see why though. Considering i did all the things he wanted his child to do. Claiming all that pump'n was for nothing!" 

Church nodded, slightly disgusted. Pump'n? Oh fucking christ. He took a deep breath and gave a sympathetic look that was somewhat fake to Mackenzie. "So um, what DID you do that he wanted?" 

"Well, ah' was strong! Knew ma' way around a gun. Oh! And thought against those damn aliens just like him" Mackenzie informed.

"Aliens? You were in the war against aliens!?" Church choked.

"Why a' course hun!" She chuckled, pointing to her face. "You don' think i got a massive scar like this in some small hodunk county canyon do'ya?" 

Church sighed. "Well, i could see that happening. I have been injured massively in one of those said fucking box  canyons..."

"Scar?" Mackenzie asked.

"Something a little more... deadly" Church groaned. 

"Ah' see" Mackenzie said, putting a stack of pancakes on a plate. She put the plate infront of Church. "Well a' hope it wasn't too bad. Cabby really cares about ya! You're his best as buzzy bee friends! He'd do anything for ya" Her face went stern and she leaned in, closer to Churchs face. "Never take advantage of that..." She pulled her face away regaining her smile. "Since' Cous likes ya so much if you ever need it a'll give you ma' signature advice. Whenever you need it!" 

"Advice?" Church raised an eyebrow.

"Yup. Granny says a'm the best advice giver this side of the muttonchop moon!" Mackenzie made a hand motion as if she was the conductor of a circus saying the show was going to begin soon. "Serious problems or serious others ah' will always give the best advice to ya!" She placed two more plates with pancakes on them where Tucker and Caboose were going to sit. 

Church shook his head turning away from her and mumbling yeah right under his breath. He turned to face her once again taking a bite of the pancake. "Yeah, yeah sure thing!" It was quite obvious Church was being sarcastic.

"Now that sounds like a' person who needs advice! Someone trying to hide it too..." She winked. "Mind' telling me what about? Seems kinda serious!"

"What?" Church was surprised. He had no problems... or did he? No, no. He didn't, he couldn't have. "I don't have a fucking problem. I'm f-"

"Is it about that blonde military girl?" Mackenzie questioned. "The one who tried to fling a bullet into my beautiful face last night?"

"T-tex..." Church sighed but realised that sounded like he did have a problem... which he didn't. At all. No way. "No, of course not. We're fine!"

"Really? Caboose tol' me you used to date! Well, ah' can see you still are. Won't tell Caboose though for obvious reasons" Mackenzie smiled. Church was confused what she meant by that. "Listen, Lenny was it?"

"Leonar-"

"Lenny. Got it!" She gave a thumbs up. "Ya' dont seem like ya like her anymore hun. You're just with her cause ya think ya have too! Or you THINK ya like her. Well, ya dont. She cant do anythin' if you dont wanna be loveybuggies anymore. Its not just her choice y'know!" Mackenzie patted Church on the back. 

"R-right" Church stayed silent for a while. The room only became loud when Tucker and Caboose came in. Tucker saying something about how they can never play the game anymore because Caboose ate all the cheese pieces he collected at the end and Caboose claiming that the mice that he played as ate the cheese. Of course... Church rolled his eyes. 

The pancakes were gone surprisingly quick and according to Mackenzie one of the pancakes had a surprise in it! She accidentally dropped a spoon in the batter... lets just say Wash wasn't exactly happy when he came in, was handed a pancake and said pancake turned out to be the one with the surprise. Tucker could NOT stop laughing at Washs expression...

\---

After Donut woke Lopez up in the WORST way possible it turned out that smile was just a facade. According to Donut it was Code Red time and he had forgot something when planning the party. 

[Code red?]

"Yes Lopez! Code red!" Donut announced. "You see, i completely forgot about everyones standards! Everyone needs a certain thing or else they wont come, HOW COULD I FORGET!?" Donut was definitely panicking now...

[What do you mean bonuses?]

"Oh Lopez..." Donut shook his head out of disapointment. "The small things catering to certain people! Without them, they wont come and my cover christmas party of ultimate matchmaking will instead become a one night stand!"

[What?]

"A large feast for Grif, young kid party games for Caboose, tons of ladies for Tucker!" Donut shook Lopez violently. "I forgot it all!"

[Then just do those fucking parts now. The party isn't for a while anyway...]

"I guess i can get the feast easy enough and the party games. Everyone has easy standards!" Donut told. "Except for Tucker! He wants ladies! Those are definitely something i didn't buy" 

[Thats sexist]

"Wait a minute, YOU'RE A GENIUS LOPEZ!" Donut engulfed Lopez in a tight hug. Lopez blushed, but if you'd ask him he'd say he didn't. He would never admit that. "That airship with the shotgun decor! Their team had women! I could just invite them to the party. Do you remember how much girls there were Lopez?" 

[Four, though my signals for some reason show that one of them is here. My systems might be jammed]

"Ten? Thats far too much Lopez. I think their were four, maybe you're systems are jammed?" Donut gave a concerned glance.

Lopez glared. [I didn't say ten]

"Let me just call 'em back up and ask them to join us!" Donut went into the spare room to make the call. Lopez sighed and decided to check out the garage. When coming closer though he heard some clanging. He opened the door to see Sarge looking at it with a girl Lopez didn't recognise. A blonde girl with jeans on and a shirt reading 'Die Aliens Die' on it. She looked like she'd just made pancakes judging by the crumbs on her shirt and their were some serious scars covering her face.

She looked up at Lopez. "Whos that hun?"

"Oh that! Thats Lopez. He's our robot" Sarge told. "Lopez, this is Mackenzie, Cabooses cousin. Despite being related to a troublesome blue she aint half bad. She likes shotguns!" 

Mackenzie hopped up and put an arm around Lopez. "Nice ta' meet ya rustbucket robot!"

[Get off me]

"Ooh spanish!" Mackenzie admired. "Ah' used to speak that in the alien wars. I don' remember a lick of it but i think i get some...ish. " Mackenzie coughed twice. "Lets see, ahem"

[Wait, what are you-]

[Hey Triangle Plane Fan Spark Cotton Has Wood Pigs shsnsns sponge please!] 

Lopez groaned. Why did everyone who used to speak spanish suck at it now? Sarge smiled at Mackenzie. "Hey! Looks like you can understand Lopez! Can you tell him to help me fix the jeeps navigation system?"

"Ah' can try!" Mackenzie smiled.

Lopez facepalmed. [Oh for fucks sake] Lopez knew this wasn't going to go well...

Mackenzie thought for a moment, focusing on the spanish she knew. [Lopez, can you eat the leftover pineapple on the fridge? Its blue but depressed and needs cough vitamins!]

Lopez rolled his eyes. He didn't need this right now. Lopez made his way to the jeep to help Sarge fix the navigation system when all of a sudden he felt Sarge pat him on the back. "Well, would ya look at that Lopez! Someone who can finally talk to ya! Aside from me o'course"

[Wait...] Lopez felt like an idiot because of what he had just done. By doing what she thought she was asking they now thought she could speak proper spanish! Lopez wanted to punch himself. [Fuck me]

\---

"Hey Tucker" Caboose looked at his friend. He would usually go talk to Church first but Church was in his room with Tex. It was really weird when he went in there too! Tex asked if they could be in private so she could apologise once more which confused Caboose because why would she need to do that with him in private? Her face also seemed suggestive too. Probably suggesting apologising Caboose thought. Mackenzie had given Church a look and Church looked kinda sad. Though, he shook his head. Which meant he was fine. Or he was disagreeing with Mackenzie on something... it probably didn't matter!

Caboose gathered Tucker had picked up on the weirdness too, since he seemed skeptical about all the suggesting and shaking of the head stuff. Though, it was probably because of the hitting on Mackenzie. Well, Church said Tucker'd do it. He hadn't yet which was surprising. When Tex and Church left Mackenzie seemed a bit annoyed and left blue base saying some stuff that Caboose totally got and totally was listening and totally not, not concentrating on the strange cat poster on the wall. Yes, not that. 

"Yeah Caboose?" Tucker turned. 

"Was it just me or were Church and Tex acting strange?" Caboose questioned. 

"Yeah dude. I got that too. Hey, you stay here. I just wanna check on what they're doing for a second" Tucker informed. Caboose nodded as Tucker left the room and went in the direction of Churchs room. Caboose didn't really know what happened after that though. He heard a door open (presumably Tucker opening Churchs door) and seeing something that got him mad. Eventually Tex came out the room looking embarassed but also pissed off. Tucker was yelling something at Church that wasn't audible from Cabooses distance but he heard some words admist the shouting. Like 'Again' and 'Seriously?'

It reminded Caboose of something, all the yelling and all that. He didn't knew what it was until a memory flashed in his mind, one long ago for when he was only seven...

\---

Caboose was playing with his toy dinosaur. He liked the dinosaur, he wanted a pet one one of these days. For some reason, they didn't sell them in the pet shop. That was a disapointment. Mummy suggested that a reason why was because Dinosaurs were too vicious. Caboose had nodded, that made sense. Suddenly, he heard yelling. 

"UGH, I CAN NEVER TRUST YOU CAN I?" It was Cabooses mum. 

"YOU CAN JUST NOT WITH SOMETHING YOU KNOW I CAN'T DO!" And that was Cabooses dad.

"CANT DO? MORE LIKE, IS JUST TOO LAZY TO DO!"

"LAZY? IM THE ONE WHO MAKES MORE MONEY THEN YOU!"

"OH THATS IT! I HATE YOU!" Cabooses mum was definitely upset, this made Caboose sad. He didn't like it when mummy and daddy fought. 

"THEN WHY HAVEN'T YOU LEFT YET? THERES NOTHING STOPPING YOU!!!" 

"NOTHING! HOW ABOUT OUR SON ASSHOLE? WHEN MY PARENTS SPLIT WHEN I WAS A KID I WAS DEVASTATED! I DONT WANT MICHAEL TO FEEL THAT WAY!"

"OH REALLY? YOU'RE THE ONE WHO ALWAYS CALLS HIM A MORON!" 

"THATS BECAUSE HE IS A MORON! OUR RELATIONSHIP NEVER WOULD'VE GOTTEN THIS BAD IF YOU DIDN'T WANT TO KEEP HIM!" Caboose frowned. Oh god, they were talking about him again.

"WELL, IM SORRY. I DIDN'T THINK HE'D BE MENTALLY RETARDED. I JUST WANTED A HAPPY FAMILY!" Caboose started crying. He hated it when his family called him names. They always fought because of him.

As the yelling continued, the more Caboose started to cry. He then heard the front door open. "Uncle Daimen? Auntie E-" Mackenzie stopped as she heard the two fighting. Mackenzie was sixteen at the time so she usually just did her own thing. Today she planned on giving her uncle and aunty the muffins she made. But now..?

Mackenzie sighed and placed the basket of muffins on a nearby table. After she did that she looked around and saw Caboose in the corner crying. "Oh dear!" She rushed to him and picked him up. Caboose continued to cry. "Shhhh. Its fine. Y'all are finer then a fiddle!" She whispered as she hugged him close, patting him on the back with one arm and still lifting him up with the other. "Cabby, its okay"

"They're fighting cause of me. They said i was a m-moron" Caboose sniffed. 

"They did, did they?" Mackenzie glared, seemingly through the wall and at where the yelling was coming from. She looked at Caboose once more. "C'mon cous, lets get out of this mess diner of a mole puncher okay? I'll a'go get us some ice cream? Would ya like that?"

"Y-yes" Caboose wiped away his tears. 

"Okay good" She smiled weakly and carried Caboose out the door, shutting it quietly behind her. "Youre fine with me cous, and you always will be..."

\---

"Caboose, dude, you okay?" Caboose snapped out of his thoughts and turned to see Tucker. Caboose realised he had been crying. He quickly wiped his tears away and nodded at Tucker. "Good. Sorry for the yelling bud, i'm just really fucking pissed off" Caboose nodded again giving a shy smile, understanding Tucker was mad.

Tucker smiled weakly too, and walked outide leaving Caboose alone. Caboose grasped his head. All the yelling, all the anger. It was just like years ago when he was younger. No! Caboose regained his usual bright smile. This was blood gulch, and blood gulch was different. Besides, things couldn't get worse enough to be like his old home...

...right?


	18. Chapter 18

Simmons and Grif sighed watching the sunset once more. Grif had managed to sneak a couple bottles of beer into red base, even not getting Sarges attention. That would be impressive enough, but what was more impressive was him managing to get Simmons to have a break and drink it with him. Geez, that soldier could be so uptight sometimes...

"Hey" Simmons turned to Grif, taking a sip of the beer.

"Yeah?" Grif smiled, knowing what Simmons was going to say next.

"Do you ever-"

"Wonder why were here?" Grif interrupted.

"How the fuck did you...?" 

"C'mon Simmons, i can read you like a book" Grif said, making Simmons blush a little. "That, and you say it so often that Caboose could predict you..."

"Hey, i thought we all agreed no hating on Caboose anymore?" Simmons raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, i know" Grif put the bottle of beer he was drinking down. "But you cant expect me to just give up on old habits after one intervention. I'm too fucking used to it!" Grif announced.

"I guess" Simmons said, not completely convinced that was a good enough reason. "You know, i wonder why Caboose is dumb. I mean, theres gotta be some reason right? He couldn't have just been born dumb and even if he was his parents probably didn't help. Geez, imagine that shit. Cabooses parents" 

"You said it" Grif nodded. "But i'm pretty sure we ALL have shitty parents. Why else would we end up so fucked that we'd be so dumb we'd be sent into this simulation canyon just like labrats. We're kinda like bad food. We taste horrible but you gotta remember the ingredients put into 'em were by the cooks. No food makes themselves"

"Thats a good analogy" Simmons commented. "Well technically we eat plants so their food, yet we dont make them. Unless-"

"Simmons, dont fuck up my saying with science" Grif asked.

"Hehe, right..." Simmons gave a weak smile, taking a mouthful of the ice cold beer.

"What were you're parents like?" Grif questioned.

Simmons spat his drink out. "W-WHAT!?" His voice was squeaky. "U-um, i mean, uh..." 

"You don't have to tell me. I just know they're shitty" Grif informed. "You look up to Sarge for fucks sake. Fucking Sarge! How about this, summarise your parents and or life in three words. I'll take what you say and make my own conclusions in my head. Deal?" 

Simmons nodded. "Deal" He took a deep breath. "Expectations. Sports. Nadda" Grif took a couple moments to let that sink in. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Aren't you gonna do the same?" Simmons asked. Grif sighed. He should have seen this coming. He might aswell honestly, Simmons had told him. 

"Okay, okay. Just, lemme think" Grif requested. "Hmmm, okay got it. Always. At. Work" Grif stated. "That ones a bit more clear then yours..." 

"Yeah" Simmons agreed.

"But um, i can't really blame my mums for that, can i?" He admitted. "They just needed money to pay for my needs" 

Simmons nodded. It went silent for a while. "Well, hey, just sayin' this but i guess even though our parents are shitty we're pretty lucky" Simmons told.

"Lucky?" Grif raised an eyebrow. 

"Yeah, i mean, judging by our parents we ended up pretty fine" Simmons took another sip of his beer.

"Yeah, YOU ended up fine. You're the one you could get a masters degree anytime they wanted" Grif laughed a bit. 

Simmons sighed. He turned to Grif and gave a sympathetic smile. "Listen, in my book, you turned out better then fine, okay? Atleast you aren't as dumb as Caboose" 

"Hey, i thought we all agreed no hating on Caboose anymore?" Grif gave Simmons a playful punch and laughed a little. 

Simmons shrugged. "Touche" 

Grif put his drink towards Simmons. "Cheers?" 

"Cheers" 

The bottles hit eachother and they each took a massive swig of their beers. Simmons smiled brightly as the sun finally became unseen among the grassy horizon. As it set, Simmons made a wish. A wish that maybe him and Grif could be something more. Yet, what he didn't know, was that Grif made the exact same wish at the exact same time... 

\---

When Tucker walked back in the base he noticed three things. Church wasn't in the main room like usual (probably still moping in his room) Caboose was asleep on the couch and Mackenzie was on the phone talking to someone. Tucker sighed and moved Cabooses legs over, taking a seat. He listened to Mackenzie as she talked through the phone, pretending he was watching the tv. 

"Oh nah' Daniel. I'ma having a hoot at the moment!" Mackenzie smiled, leaning against the wall. "Oh and guess what! My cous was here, small canyons eh?" Tucker heard a quiet laugh from the end. A couple seconds passed before Mackenzie spoke again, probably listening to the person on the other end. "Daniel, ya seem a tad quiet. Not like usual, no. Did you get off your medication again?" The other end was silent. "D, you need them, the doctor said so. Have you atleast talkety talked to someone? No!? Thats it, i'ma gonna need to talk to Mike about this. Ya cant get depressed because of the whole A.I. fiasco. Daniel? Daniel? DANIEL!?" Mackenzie stared at her phone. "He hanged up on me!? Ugh, that poor guy..."

She put the phone on the kitchen counter and slumped against the wall. Tucker looked at her from over the couch. "Friend?" He asked.

"Yup" Mackenzie sighed.

"So, uh, whats this about an A.I. fiasco?" Tucker questioned.

"Not important sir nosy!" Mackenzie gave him a noogie, trying her best to smile. "Just blue problems. Me and Honey-Lemon are the only ones not letting all the bee nest trouble get to us. Then again, i dont think Honey-Lemon has ever felt sad about anything before..." Mackenzies phone began to ring. She looked at it. "Well, speak of the devil not devil angel!" She answered the phone and walked back into the kitchen. Tucker sighed. Was this what his life had resorted to? From epic adventures to taking pleasure in eavesdropping someones calls. What an understandable transition! Tucker groaned. 

Tuckers phone rang. It was Carolina. Huh? She never called. He answered it though Tucker quickly realised it was an accidental dial. Instead, he heard York and Carolina discussing things on the other end. 

\---

"Why can't we kiss?" York asked. 

"Because, it just. It just makes me feel like im cheating on you..." Carolina replied.

"How?" York questioned.

"Cause you're not really HIM. Youre just... you. An A.I. with his memories and experiences" Carolina sighed and fell onto her bed.

"But aren't memories and experiences what make the person?" York asked. 

"I guess but. You just don't understand okay?" Carolina took out her hairs ponytail. "Its complicated"

"Lifes complicated" York sharply answered.

Carolina gave a small chuckle. "Listen, York. I guess theres more to it than THAT" Carolina sighed. "Its well, if i get too attached to you i just feel like, i'll have to go through losing you again"

"Oh, I can see you feeling that way but..." York scratched his head akwardly. "...if you think about it that way you'll miss out on all the fun things we used to do together!"

"Like?"

York winked. "One on one action" Carolina would have laughed at that if it weren't for her phone emitting a noise.

"Bow Chika Bow Wow"

"TUCKER!?"


	19. Chapter 18, Sunset

Caboose sighed. He was sitting near the window watching the sunset. It was so pretty. This was definitely something he wished Freckles could see, or maybe Shiela. They would have liked it. Caboose really wanted them to come back but Wash said they were all on holiday. They were having a very long holiday... Caboose wondered where they were. Maybe paris, perhaps Hawaii? Grif said that Hawaii was nice this time of year. 'Eh, it didn't matter. They were probably having fun wherever they were.

"Hey buddy, what ya doing?" Caboose turned to the voice. It was Church. 

"Just watching the sunrise" Caboose informed.

"Oh. Yeah, thats neat" Church took a seat next to Caboose. It didn't take long before Caboose could tell Church was upset. Not TOO upset but still pretty sad. 

"I heard you and Tucker fighting..." Caboose frowned. 

"Oh, you did?" Church sighed. "How loud was it?"

"Pretty loud" Caboose informed. "Though, i couldn't really hear what you two were fighting about. If you dont mind me asking but... what WAS it you were fighting about?"

"Tex" Church stated. "Just bloody Tex" 

Caboose nodded. Church always had problems with Tex. Everytime Cabooses parents fought Cabooses mother would always tell Caboose it was normal and that relationships always have their fair share of arguements, so he didn't really think that much about it. However, even Caboose knew there was a breaking point. Though he hated to admit it, he swore his mum and dad were argueing more then the 'usual' relationship. 

"Are you and Tucker still friends?" Caboose questioned.

"What? Yeah, i mean probably" Church stuttered as he spoke. Whenever he did this it just meant he didn't know and was trying to figure it out at the same time he was talking about it. "He was pretty pissed off..."

"Why?" Caboose raised an eyebrow. 

"I dont fucking know, hes retarded probably. Listen Caboose i dont want to talk about it. Its just really stupid and im confused right now about a lot of things. I'm just praying to god this doesn't carry on and things can go back to how they were before all this" Church gave a large hand motion.

"Before you dated Tex?" Caboose asked.

Church went wide eyed. "N-no, not that. We're fine, okay?"

"Are you sure?" Caboose tilted his head to the side. Church was sure acting strange. 

"Yeah, im fucking sure" Church retaliated. As the sun disapeared among the horizon Church got up and began walking away. 

"Where are you going Church?" Caboose watched his friend walk away. 

"Just, i just need some fresh air okay bud?" Church told.

"In the dark?" Caboose was obviously confused.

"Yeah, i guess" 

Before Church walked out the door Caboose rested a hand on his shoulder. "Can i come with you? Its dark outide and scary. Won't you be lonely?"

Church shook Cabooses hand off. Realising that was a bit more rude then intended he sighed and looked at Caboose. "Im fine" 

Church walked out the room leaving Caboose. First the yelling and now this? It was all too familiar! Caboose sat back down and grasped his head. Another memory letting loose in his brain from when he was eleven...

\---

"WELL IM SORRY BITCH, BUT I AM SICK OF STAYING HERE WITH YOU! IF YOU WONT LEAVE, THEN I WILL!" Caboose watched as his father walked out the door Cabooses mum was in and made his way to the front door. 

"FINE! I DONT NEED YOU, AND NEITHER DOES MICHAEL!" Cabooses mum yelled from the room Cabooses dad had Just left. 

Caboose got up and went over to his dad. When his dad turned the door knob Caboose tugged on his shirt. "Daddy? Where are you going?"

"What? Oh hey Michael" Cabooses dad turned, a sad expression on his face. "Just going for a walk" 

"In the dark? Thats silly!" Caboose giggled a little. 

Cabooses dad smiled and leant down, hugging his son. "Yeah, i suppose it is" He sighed and got back up.

"Can i come with you? Its dark and scary in the night time. You shouldn't be alone" Caboose offered his hand but was rejected.

"Sorry son, but i've made my choice" Cabooses dad walked out the door and closed it behind him. Caboose assured himself his dad would come back. After all, he was just going for a walk. It must be a very long walk too, because he still hasn't come back. 

\---

As Church walked outside he admired the stars. They were nice tonight. He would have stayed in the base with Caboose, to keep watching the sky from the window but couldn't. Among everything that has happened, his fight with Tucker and all that Tex shit he was on the verge of tears. Atleast now he could cry and no one would be able to see, after all, who'd be out this late at night?

"Hey Lenny... you're look'n as good as a pumpkin in a christmas blanket" Church looked up to see Mackenzie. There was a long silence. "Uh, that means not good hun"

"R-right..." Church said, giving off the fake impression he knew all along.

Suddenly, Mackenzies face went stern. She crossed her arms. "Why did ya not break up with her?" She asked.

"Because, like i said before, we're fine!" Church informed. 

"Yeah right hun. You're a terrible liar. Like a ladybug in a wheelie bin" Mackenzie nodded at her own analogy. "Y'know, about before... that was a great time to tell her ya need to talk, but instead ya just went along with it. Cause' yar scared, and now look at whats happened! Tucker discovered and is now madder then a tomato on bananas at ya. That guys ya friend and he knows whats best Church and he knows yar should let 'er go" 

"How'd you hear about the fight?" Church stared at her.

"Aint' it obvious Church" She lifted up her phone.

"One of my friends told you, didn't they?" Church growled.

"What, no" Mackenzie chuckled. "Ah' figured because of the spy cameras i put up in blue base yesterday. In every room there is atleast five cameras. Many unique angles" Mackenzie smiled.

"Spy Cameras!?" Church choked. "W-wait a minute..." Church came to another realisation. "Yesterday!? You were either at red base or in our sights yesterday how the fuck did we not see!?"

"Chestnuts" Mackenzie replied sharply.

"W-what???" Church facepalmed. 

"But thats not the important part hun. The important part is that ya stop all this madness and just break up with 'er! Either that..." she paused dramatically. "Or i'll intervene" 

Church clenched his fists. "I guess you're right..." 

"Ah' know i am" Mackenzie said, her eyebrows furrowed. 

"I'll... i'll get right on it..." Church walked off. Not to tell Tex, but to go to bed. He wasn't going to break up with Tex. That would start way too much shit. Besides, Mackenzie was bluffing. She wouldn't do anything at all! 

\---

Grif, who'd been watching through the window with Simmons sighed. "I swear we cant go one fucking day without something or someone causing drama" 

"I know right?" Simmons agreed. "Its like a really gay romance fanfiction..."

"Pffft, yeah right" Grif laughed. "Imagine that! How long would that even go for?"

"Eighteen chapters and a prologue. Well, ish" Simmons made a hand gesture. "That'll probably be the amount of chapters before things become really fucked up. Like, something major happening y'know?"

"Yeah, yeah. I suppose" Grif took a bite of a snackcake he held in his right hand. "What do you think it'd be called?" 

"Bromance? Gay Twist?" Simmons suggested.

"Nah" Grif shrugged. "WHAT ARE THE ODDS it'd be called that?"


	20. Chapter 19, Anger Rising

"Church, you're really fucked up you know that?"  

Church was so confused. He had just woken up to see Tex standing at the foot of his bed, just staring at him. She was clenching a note tightly in her right hand. "U-um..." Church stuttered. What the fuck was going on?

"Don't act like you don't know Church" Tex was defintely angry. "You wrote this note Church. You're the one who left it on my door right? It has you're handwriting on it..." 

Church gave her a confused glance. She passed him the note. He looked down and examined it. It said, 'Dear Tex, i'm sorry but i don't think i like you anymore. Lets just be friends okay? -Church' if that wasn't shocking enough for Church the handwriting also looked a lot like his. Almost identical. He scratched his head, pondering the note. "Tex, i didn't-"

"Don't lie, you're now just being a whiny little pussy because you regret you're decision. Well, you know what? Fine, its over cockbite" Tex snatched the letter away from Church and crumpled it up, immediately throwing it in the trash. "If we ever do get back together, and you feel the same? Don't leave it to a letter to tell me" She stormed out leaving Church stunned. 

Suddenly, Churchs confusion became anger. It was Mackenzie, wasn't it? That bitch couldn't have waited a little longer couldn't she? "Thats it, im kicking her out!" Church got out of bed and stomped into the kitchen. He was greeted with silence from Tucker, a wave from Caboose and a 'Howdy Lenny' from Mackenzie as she mixed all the cake batter in the bowl. Church growled and walked up to her, snatching the spoon she was mixing with away. "You bitch!" He shouted.

Mackenzie raised an eyebrow. "Um... what is it Lenny? You seem as upset as a honey licker on a duck-" 

"Oh cut the countryisms crap. Don't act like you don't know what you did!" Church glared, his voice infuriated with absolute rage. This grabbed Tucker and Cabooses knowledge right away.

"Mmm...listen, Church" Mackenzies face became stern. "I reccomend not using that tone against me. I don't really appreciate it ya hear" Mackenzie told which made Churchs eye twitch a little. "Also, i did noth'n to ya. So stop accusing me of backstabbing you like cousin Carl" 

"Cousin Carl should not have eaten that bee" Caboose whispered nodding.

"Okay, sorry bitch but i'm not fooling for you're shit. I know you gave that letter to Tex! I told you, we were fine. You didn't need to but in our relationship okay? Thats it, i want you to go far far away. How about this? Go off to red base, stay there and NEVER see me again. Hows that?" Churchs fists were clenched tightly. 

"Dude, wait a minute. That was-"

"SHUT UP TUCKER!" 

Mackenzie frowned. "If thats what ya want, but i'm telling ya. I didn't give Tex any-"

"I. SAID. GO" Church hissed, so blinded with anger the words just came out themselves. 

"Okay then Lenny..." Mackenzie began walking off.

"Um, Church" Church looked over to see Caboose.

"Not now Caboose" Church retaliated.

"But, um Chur-"

"I said not now Caboose" Church interrupted.

"Church, i really think... um... does Mackenzie have to go?" Caboose said, kinda perking up on each word. After all Church was his friend! He wouldn't do anything that would upset Caboose, right? "I mean, she is my cousin! And we have been talking and stuff. Did you know Granma mailed herself to New york again? Thats funny" Caboose laughed a bit before continuing. "And, y'know, i think Mackenzie should stay..."

"Caboose, if you want to keep connecting with your cousin then be my guest!" Church said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. 

"Really!?" Caboose smiled.

"Yeah bud. You can go move in with red base with her!" Church yelled.

"W-what? But Church, then..?" Caboose stuttered.

"We'd be apart? I know that. Hence why i said it. Listen buddy, it'd be nice not having to deal with you anymore. Especially since your on her side despite everything we've been through. What did she do? NOTHING. Without me, you'd be the stupid private who died on the first day. Oh wait, lets flip that. You killed me!!!" Church shouted, letting it all out. 

It reminded Caboose of when Church yelled at them years ago. When they were going to confront the director and all that. Caboose was sad then, and Church promised he'd never get mad like that again. Looks like he lied...

"O-okay. I'll go to red base..." Caboose told.

"Wait what?" Church said shocked. He had never actually meant it, he was just really mad. Oh god, what had he done. By the time he snapped out of his thoughts Caboose and Mackenzie were gone. Leaving only Tucker, furrows browed as he stared at Church, on the couch. He got up and grabbed his pillow. "Oh don't tell me you're going too?"

"No way asshole, all my stuffs here. I think tonight though i'm just going to spend the night on Carolina and Washs airship to cool off so i don't punch you again" Tucker informed. 

"Cool off? Why would you- uh never mind. Go ahead. I could use the night to myself" Church groaned, tired.

As Tucker walked put he took one final look at Church. "Dude, you are a total wreck. You just shattered Cabooses heart, you know that right?" 

"Yeah..." Church sighed.

"Oh, and by the way dude, if you had just listened to me and let me finish when i tried to talk with you when you were going off at Mackenzie you would have known that I'M the one who sent Tex that note" Tucker stated. Church began to say something but was cut off by Tucker. "And it was for your own good. Like i said in that fight we had, you have to get over her and stop becoming her boyfriend. She does the same thing everytime, leaves you and breaks your heart. Wanna know whats funny though dude? When i sent that note i kept thinking she didn't deserve you because of what shes done, but now? I think you don't deserve her because your too much of a xlingy asshole who pathetically latches onto her and never lets go" 

And with that, Tucker walked out the door leaving a still pretty pissed off Church on the couch. Oh god. What the fuck had he just done?

\---

When Tucker entered the airship he stayed pretty vague about what had happened. All he said was Church got mad and now he needed to cool off. Later that night though he told Wash the whole thing when Carolina and Tex were asleep. Wash couldn't believe his ears when he heard it the first time.

"I know Church gets mad but did he really snap like that?" Wash said, still doubtful. "Especially considering what it was about... y'know" Wash gestured to Tex.

"Im telling ya dude. He absosultely lost it!" Tucker told, taking a sip of coffee. "Seriously, he can get so worked up over things"

"Agreed" Wash nodded.

"Hey Wash"

"Yeah Tucker?" Wash stared at his friend.

"Do you think i did the right thing? Y'know, with the note shit?" Tucker asked.

"Of course. He wouldn't have done it himself. Infact, i kinda think it was brave what you did" Wash smiled at Tucker and he smiled back. "Lets hope Church cools down and realises what a good friend you were being"

"And lets hope he realises how much of a good friend Caboose always IS..." Tucker sighed and took another sip of his coffee. 

"Do you think he'll still come to Donuts christmas party?" Wash questioned. "Its only in two days"

"Well, he promised Caboose he'd go" Tucker stretched, yawning. "But now im not too sure"

"I see" Wash said, taking all this information in much better then Tucker expected. "Well, he should go. I hear that parties usually end with a ninety-three percent chance of stress relief success"

"Boom chika bow wow" Tucker winked.

Wash gave him a playful punch. "Yeah, yeah. Sex joke i get it"

"How dare you think so low of me Wash" Tucker said smiling. "I had a fun, child friendly joke in mind. Who has the dirty mind now?" Tucker laughed mockingly. 

Wash rolled his eyes smirking. They continued talking the night away before they finally went to sleep. Tucker hoped things would be better tomorrow... heres to tomorrow!

\---

Mackenzie and Caboose settled into red base surprisngly well. Well, atleast better then Simmons and Grif had thought they would. Simmons room got taken by Mackenzie and Caboose, they were used to sharing a room, claiming they'd shared one for all of Cabooses life as a twelve to fourteen year old. So, Simmons and Grif had to share. Honestly, they didn't really mind. They'd shared rooms before in a lot of the different bases over the years.

When all was dark and everyone was asleep except Simmons and Grif they began talking. "So... can you believe Church? I mean, holy fuck"

"I know right? Was it just me or did their description kinda sound like that time... well..." Simmons scratched his head, remembering the day but not wanting to relive the memory.

"With Carolina and all that director shit?" Grif finished. Simmons nodded. "Seriously though, i hate thinking about that and Carolina doesn't help when she one day slips 'Hey! I was going to shoot you but then Sarge intervened' one day when she drinks" 

"Yeah" Simmons chuckled. "I'm pretty sure though if Sarge knew he would not have said anything..." 

"Definitely" Grif agreed. "But if you're going by Sarges mindset now im already dying... anyways, Donut and Lopez are being rather quiet about this party don't ya think?"

"Yeah, i've noticed that too" Simmons said, pondering all the strange moments involving the party hes had with Donut for the past few days. "They seem suspicious"

"Bet ya ten bucks its a scheme" Grif said quickly.

"I don't think Donut is all too smart for that" Simmons told. "So, deal"

Grif and Simmons shook hands. "Welp, im going to bed" Grif yawned and fell asleep almost instantly. Simmons went to sleep aswell but it took a little bit longer then Grif did. (Seriously though, Grif could get to sleep fast) 

\---

Church stared at Donuts party invitation. Should he go? I mean, he promised Caboose but... no. He couldn't. Church threw the invite away and stretched before puffing up his pillow and collapsing on his bed. He started staring at the ceiling. He prayed in his mind tomorrow would be different. Tucker would come back, Mackenzie would forgive him and Caboose would...

...Caboose would bounce back like always...

 

Right?


	21. Chapter 20, Preparations

It was one day till the christmas party and honestly it made red base stress. Not because they cared what all the other team thought about them, because face it, that ship has sailed. No, what made them stress was Donut. Donut was so worked up about the party being perfect that he made everyone else around him panic too. Every christmas decoration needed to be in the perfect position, as did the lights, as did the food, as did fucking everything! It was a real train wreck. 

But to make it worse was all the drama surrounding the event. Donut didn't want a depressed Caboose at the party so he needed Church to come. Yet the guy wouldn't answer his door! Whats even worse is that all the women who gave Donut the christmas decor came LATE and on a sidenote, brought the rest of their teams. Including a freelancer that Wash wasn't on good terms with. After all of Donuts freaking out Sarge assigned Lopez on Donut to calm him down. He honestly could do that pretty well, but every once in a while something would happen that would make Donut lose it once more.

"No Grif! The christmas tree goes on that side of the room. When its on the left it clashes with absolutely everything!" Donut shouted, losing his patience.

"Oh for gods sake..." Grif growled. "WHEN I PUT IT ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROOM YOU TOLD ME IT LOOKED TOO MEEK AND UN-NOTICEABLE" 

"Exactly, so dont go left or right. Just make a compromise!" Donut told. 

Grif rolled his eyes and walked away from the tree. "Nevermind, i dont give a fuck. Just make Simmons do it or something. I'm going to go get something from the snack table..." 

"No Grif" Donut stood in Grifs way aggrivated. "You're not allowed to eat anything from the snack table until the party starts. Or else, nobody else will have some!" 

"Oh" Grif bit his lip, avoiding eye contact with Donut. "How long has that rule been in place... exactly?"

Donut blinked several times before glaring at Grif with all his anger. "SINCE ALWAYS! HAVE YOU BEEN TAKING FOOD FROM IT THIS WHOLE TIME!?"

"What, no!" Grif protested.

Simmons who was at the snack table in the next room over suddenly yelled to Donut. "Hey Donut!? Wheres the gingerbread men i made for the party. All thats left is a plate!"

Donut growled. He turned over to Grif again but he was gone. Presumably to hide and have a nap. Lopez patted Donut on the back but it didn't really do anything. [I haven't really seen you this stressed before Donut]

"YOU'RE RIGHT LOPEZ!" Donut nodded. "We are surrounded by incompetence"

[Welcome to my world]

Suddenly the door opened to reveal Tucker and Wash who judging by the looks of things caught onto the chaos pretty quickly. Wash made his way over to Donut who was on the verge of pulling all his hair out. "Hey, so um... are things going well?"

However, Wash soon became wide-eyed when he was shaken violently by Donut. "OF COURSE NOT WASH!" Donut yelled with all his might and force, though he quickly calmed down. "Sorry, excuse my language, its just that this party is driving me insane! For example, Caboose was meant to come up with fun party games when me and Lopez lacked creative flair in that department, however hes too sad asking if Church is still coming to do it! So then we made Simmons do the party games but all his games are single player games he played when he had no friends in high school. Its actually quite sad...  oh and another thing, that ship with all the ladies-"

"Hope i get sailed with that ship! Bow Chika Bow Wow" Tucker winked. 

"-all brought their friends too! So now i have more guests which means more food and more space. We could always make the party half outside but we dont have any stick in the ground reindeer lights, which would have been the key factor there. Oh, its all such a disaster!"

"Oh c'mon Donut" Wash gave a re-assuring smile. "There has to be atleast one good thing out of all of this right?"

Donut thought for a moment. "Well, Lopez has been really nice" Donut informed. Lopez looked away blushing a little, which Tucker caught onto. "And one of the guests from the decor place has been really helpful! Their name is Zachary. Tucker, I think you'd like them"

Tucker and Wash gave Donut confused glances. Wash broke the silence. "Um...Donut, Tucker is straight" Wash commented though a keen listener would have heard him mumble unfortunately at the end of it. 

"You're so funny Wash! Zacharys a girl!" Donut told.

"Oh" Wash sighed, a little disapointed. Now Tucker had someone to hit on... he perked up quickly and rested a hand on Donuts shoulder. "Well, glad to see you've calmed down a little"

"Yup! Trust me, its been hard" Donut told. 

[Um Donut, i dont mean to alarm you but...] Lopez pointed over to the punch bowl that had fallen over on one of the female guests.

"OH DEAR GOD!" Donut rushed to her aid, leaving behind Tucker and Wash. 

\---

"DIANCIE REQUESTS THOUGH TO TAKE OFF THIS ABOMINATION OF SOUP!" Diancie shouted, soaked in the rasberry punch. Her long red hair sticky. One of her comrades Cross touched her hair, recoiling at the awful gooey feeling the sticky residue felt like. He pulled his hand away and stared at his hand for the longest amount of time. It was technically Rasberry punch...

"Hmm? Should i, or should i not?" Cross rested his other hand on his chin, thinking about if he should lick it or not.

"You should not Cross, absolutely not" Leo stated.

"Why not!?" Cross whined.

"Its been in Diancies hair Cross, you know how much god damn conditioner she uses!" Leo replied.

"Yeah but her conditioner is rasberry themed. Maybe it'll multiply the rasberry taste!"

"No"

"Double rasberry"

"No"

"Rasbery times two"

"No!" 

"Quantity over quality!" 

"Cross don't-"

And with that Cross licked it. Leo groaned. Cross immediately feeling sick picked up the now empty punch bowl and vomited in it. "Oh god, why!!??"

"Why the fuck am i friends with you!?" Leo asked, questioning himself. 

"We're not friends dickface!" Cross retaliated.

"Oh, you fucker!" Then they were fighting. Punches, kicks, after a while they were rolling on the floor attacking eachother. Suddenly, Zachary walked up to the three and facepalmed.

"Seriously guys? Do you have to fight all the time!" Zachary commented, extremely annoyed. "Fucking idiots..." She added, groaning.

Leo pouted. "We don't fight..."

"...All the time" Cross finished.

"And when you're not you're finishing eachothers sentences like a sweet sixteen couple" Zachary laughed devilishly. Cross and Leo gave eachother disgusted glances before fighting again. "And Diancie-"

"The Diancie" Diancie reminded.

"Oh right, that shit" Zachary sighed. "So, 'the' Diancie, how the fuck did you get covered in rasberry punch?" 

"It was looking at thy funny and judging thy intelligence, so Diancie punched it!" Diancie replied.

"Really?" Zachary raised an eyebrow.

"It played a very dangerous game..." Diancie told, shifting her eyes from left to right. "Never mess with thy. You will succumb to the justice"

Before Zachary could question anymore Donut came up with a handful of paper towels. "Oh my gosh! How did this happen? Was it Grif being stupid?" 

"Internal screaming equals the flames of thys justice" Diancie stated.

"R-right" Donut passed her the paper towels before running off, leaving a tired Lopez behind. 

[Why does everyone here have to be assholes and not give him a break?]

Diancie looked appualed and grabbed Lopez by the collar. [My word. The amazing Diancie bowed down to come to thoughs party so i wish to be treated like a queen]

Lopez glared and broke free from her grasp, walking off. Zachary sighed. "I am never going to make any normal friends with you guys around aren't i?"

Cross and Leo stopped their fighting for a split second. Cross nodded. "Yeah not with..."

"...Us around doing things" Leo ended. Then they were back to fighting. 

Zachary frowned and leant against the wall. Silence reigned. "Well, this party is going to be shit" She proclaimed.

\---

Church had not had the best night. Not only was he suffering a hangover but his hair was messy, hadn't had breakfast yet and all his videogames had been completed in one whole night. Basically meaning he got no sleep. Church had been hearing a lot of commotion coming from red base, probably to do with that shit party tomorrow he thought.

As by that thought alone, you could tell he didn't want to go. He had promised Caboose but that was before the falling out. Caboose still couldn't be latching onto that promise, right? Well no matter what he was doing Church figured it involved having fun with his cousin. Probably discussing more things Caboose had missed out on being in Blood Gulch. 

Church knew he shouldn't have been so harsh with Caboose. Why wouldn't he want to see his cousin after all this time? According to Caboose he was drafted and Mackenzie wasn't. She looked after him majority of the time so imagine how she felt. Church knew Mackenzie was the oldest of the two. By a lot of years actually aswell... she would have been positively devastated.

And after all that hargrove crap she probably summarised Caboose was dead. Seeing him alive would have been the best thing that ever happened to her. But here Church was, feeling like utter shit and trying to seperate them, so blinded by rage he couldn't let Tucker finish his dumb sentence. Why did it feel like life was always trying to hurt Church in some way? Oh wait, more then hurt. He'd already died like several times. 

Church let out an aggrivated sigh before getting out of bed to make breakfast. He heard the door open. "Donut, i dont know how the fuck you managed to unlock it but i am-"

"Dude, chill. God" Tucker rolled his eyes. "Its just me"

"Yeah well that doesn't explain how you got in!" Church defended his anger.

"Dude, i fucking live here. I have the key" Tucker said, showing off the key making Church look away slightly embarassed. Tucker quickly noticed the empty beer bottles surrounding Church and the bags under his eyes. "Gesus christ dude, what the actual fuck happened?"

"I know it looks bad, but-"

"Bad? Dude, this is like if drunk teenage girls had a party in here. Boy how would i have preferred that then you just being depressed and shit" Tucker stated. 

It was silent for a couple seconds. Church gave Tucker a confused glance. "Um... aren't you going to...you know" Church waited but Tucker just raised an eyebrow. "Do the whole... bow chicka whatever thing?"

"Nah dude. I already did that today" Tucker informed.

"So..?" Church was getting mighty skeptical. "You always jump at the opportunity for a sex joke... or that saying. Hey, now that i think about it you have been less about ladies recently. Something up?"

"Something up?" Tucker mocked. "Dude, in this situation i should be asking you that. Theres like a million empty bottles here and only you"

"Yeah i get it but still, whats been going on? You haven't been reading your 'ladies' magazines recently" Church told, a little confused. 

"You made me throw it away genius" Tucker said flatly.

"Oh c'mon Tucker" Church gave a small fake laugh, though it was quite clearly forced. "You have way more then one. You have like fifty..."

Tucker turned away, but as he did Church noticed something. Was... is Tucker sweating?

As Church grew more and more suspicious Tucker got more and more anxious. He stopped making eye-contact with Church and gave a fake sigh. "Dude, can we not talk about this? How about we just-"

"Okay, that fucking cuts the cake" Church told. "You are definitely acting different. Ever since i came back with Carolina you've changed a fucking lot!"

"People change Church" Tucker said, a tad agrivated.

"Yeah, but not in the way you do. Just one day you're fine and then the next day-"

"YOU WEREN'T GONE FOR ONE DAY CHURCH" Tucker shouted angrilly. He quickly simmered down a little though and took a deep breath. "You were gone for weeks Church. Its understable i would change in that amount of time. You know dude, now that i think about it, everytime you open that mouth of yours you just keep making yourself look bad. So can you do us both a favour dude and shut the fuck up?" Tucker glared.

"Fine" Church groaned. Yup, Tucker was definitely hiding something. Church decided to leave it be though, because he was sure if he continued Tucker would leave and sleep in the...the airship. Hold on a second! Church soon came to a realisation. He looked over at Tucker shocked. "Tucker..?"

"Yeah dude" Tucker turned around. He was going to say something else but hesitated.

"Why didn't you sleep in red base?" Church asked. 

"Huh?"

"Y'know, it has WAY more space then the airship. The airship is extremely cramped, Washington even told you that. I mean, Red base is a little small too but it would give you way more room to walk around and such.... and YOU know that already so why didn't you want to sleep there?" Church questioned.

"Because... uh..." Tucker scratched his head. "Red base is... too loud. Yeah, too loud dude. Besides, if i went there i'd have to share a room with either Grif and Simmons or Mackenzie and Caboose. Both i'd be the third wheel" Tucker told. It would have sounded like a reasonable answer but the way Tucker said it gave the impression he'd just come up with it then.

Church raised an eyebrow. "Right..."

"And besides dude!" Tucker said, all too quickly startling Church just a little. "You have been asking me too many questions. So, im going to ask you one!"

"Okay, fine. Go ahead" Church gave a hand motion.

"Are you going to the Christmas Party?" Tucker asked.

"Well that ones easy" Church smirked. "No"

"No?" Tucker mocked. "But what about Caboose?"

"What about him?" Church said, pretending to not know what he was talking about. Unfortunately for Church, he knew all too well what Tucker was referring to. 

"You promised him you'd go!" Tucker clenched his fists. 

"Yeah, but-"

"But what?" 

"That was before the falling out!" Church said, trying his best to defend himself. 

"So? Hes still thinking you'll come..." 

"Well thats his problem" Church told. 

Tucker gave Church a disgusted look before shaking his head and looking away once more. Tucker sighed and looked out the window, a window that gave an almost perfect view of red base. Lets hope Caboose isn't too hopeful on that promise...

\---

Mackenzie had been trying her best to cheer up Caboose. Even managing to get the help of one of her closest friends Honey-Lemon. It didn't go as expected...

"C'mon Cabby. How 'bout we cheer up? Honey-Lemon are ya ready?" Mackenzie called.

"Yes intubitively!" Suddenly, Honey-Lemon jumped into the room dressed as a magician. "But now you lovely lovey dovey audience may call me 'Honey-Lemon De Magics!' Because if you loveterful audience dont it'll kill the amazing amazing magic. Gotta keep that cutsie magic alive, right birthday boy!"

"But it isn't my birthday..." Caboose raised an eyebrow. "Or is it!?"

"Um..." Honey-Lemon thought for a moment before she pulled out a hat that a bunny came out of. The bunny was red and looked angry but Honey-Lemon paid no mind. "Its not your birthday silly! Its FlameFourth the Magic bunnies birthday... and hes spending it making you cheerful! Right FlameFourth"

"My life is torture. Trapped inside this meek tiny body i cannot fulfill my potential. To rule over the world and burn it all!" Flamefourth laughed a bit before he jumped back in the hat. To his dismay he was pulled out again by Honey-Lemon almost instantly. 

"Isn't Mr FlameFourth so wonderful? I found him in a sensational sensational place. He was trapped in a massive cage surrounded by millions of aliens. Talk about a terrible saddening pound. I'm sure they learned their lesson after their shotguns in the face!" Honey-Lemon smiled.

"I thought she was a rescue team..." FlameFourth groaned. "Instead she is my new captor"

"Isn't he so lovey dovey and wonderful!" Honey-Lemon squeezed him tightly. 

FlameFourth frowned. "I will burn thee when my magic and true power is fully restored!"

"Yeah. Really wonderful Honey-Lemon!" Mackenzie said, leaning over to Caboose. "Don't touch it, it bites" She whispered. Caboose nodded.

Honey-Lemon did a couple more magic tricks for Caboose, but all he kept thinking about was if Church was still coming to the party. Then again he wasn't really missing out on anything since Honey-Lemon kept mucking up on her tricks and claiming shes teaching Caboose physics. He doubted that, that was nowhere near being psycic! Thats what she was meaning right?

\---

Donut was finally happy and calm for once in the making of the party! He was hanging up the many mistletoes sprinkled about the party and was enjoying it thoroughly. Mainly cause they were such a big part of the plan! He gave Donut a knowing smile and nod and Lopez did the same thing, except smile. He was still not entirely on board with the whole idea.

When Donut finished that up, the sun was finally setting and everyone went back to their bases. (Except for Caboose and Mackenzie obviously) The decor squad or whatever they were set up tents in the grass outside of red base, though some went closer to blue base despite what they were told. 

Everything was going to be great. Donut smiled happily and looked out the window with excitement and anticipation. He gave a small breath of relief that they managed to work it out in time and smiled. 

"This christmas party is going to be off the hook!"


	22. Chapter 21, The Christmas Party Act One

Church awoke much earliar then he intended. Due to how long it took him to get to sleep he expected and definitely wanted to get up later. Clearly though, his body had other plans. Church got up and walked into the kitchen and began making himself some cereal, Tucker getting up a little bit later and doing the same thing. As Church sat at the table eating his breakfast Tucker stared at him with concern. Not for Church though, for Caboose. Tucker sat down next to Church and started eating his cereal. 

"Did you change your mind dude?" Tucker asked. 

"About what?" Church questioned. 

"About if youre going to the party or not..." Tucker informed. 

Church stayed silent for a little while. He wanted to say yes for some reason unknown to him. He figured his hesitation was because of Caboose, but instead of adressing it he ignored it. After all, he didn't care about Caboose enough to do this. Go to a party after all the crap thats gone down, still making Caboose happy despite all the questions he would be asked and having to deal with Tex. He didn't care enough about the guy to deal with all that! Right? Probably so, thats what Church convinced himself anyway. Finally realising Tucker was getting more and more confused because of Churchs silence Church spoke up. 

"No, why would i change my mind?" Church stated. 

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Dude, you really are an asshole..."

And with that, Churchs eye twitched. The need to defend himself rose. Tucker didn't know what the hell he was talking about. Church was in the right here, atleast in his own mind he was. "Listen Tucker, im not an asshole. Atleast not here, in this certain situation. I dont wanna go because of Tex. Youre just being selfish"

"Me being selfish?" Tucker choked. It was at this moment that Church realised he chose the wrong words. "Youre the one not going back on a promise because of all youre personal shit. Youre best friend wants you to go and youre not, despite knowing how much you fucking mean to him! If you dont go, his heart will break. Can you imagine how he'd feel?" Tucker questioned. Church sighed. He would know how Caboose would be. Absolutely devastated. "But keep going on how im selfish"

"Dude, i..." Church hesitated. Why did it always have to be the same name popping up in every problem? "Its just i cant see Tex right-"

"Oh Tex, what a fucking reasonable answer!" Tucker said sarcastically. "Its not like shes always what you say or anything... or that shes the center of every fucking issue. No, no. She is TOTALLY a good reason"

"Tucker, we have histo-"

"And you always will!" Tucker snapped. "No matter what you guys do, you will ALWAYS have history. Did you think that when you got back together, all that history just went away?" Tucker asked. Church stayed silent. "Oh c'mon! You did, didn't you!?" Church still refused to talk, he hated it when Tucker was right about things. "Listen dude, its either you stay here moping about something that will never truly go away OR you go to a christmas party for your best friend and get the fuck over it"

Church looked away from Tucker. It was surprisingly wise advice coming from the guy but it still didn't waver Churchs mind. All it did was make him feel guilty. Knowing how Caboose would feel if he let him down and all that... Church sighed. "I... i can't go...Tucker" 

"Fine" Tucker rolled his eyes and finished his breakfast. He left blue base rather abruptly after that. Church could of sworn he nearly got up and followed Tucker to the party but he wrote it off. He just couldn't go. It was as simple as that. 

\---

When Tucker entered red base it somewhat helped his mood. The cheerful christmas music in the background, the presents being laid under the tree and the- WAIT WHAT!? Tucker stared blankly under the tree as one by one people plopped down gifts. Was he meant to bring one? Oh yeah, it was a 'Christmas' party. Tucker sighed and looked around. So far, only people he didn't know were there. I mean, there was Donut but Tucker wasn't in the mood to talk with him. Everyone else must still be asleep... Tucker thought sitting down on one of the seats. A couple minutes later a stranger sat next to him. A girl with blonde hair, she was extremely beautiful. All of her features were perfect. A couple years ago Tucker would have thought JACKPOT, but now?

"You're Tucker right?" The stranger spoke. "Donut told me about you! And how you are a lovely lovely wonderful person! My names Honey-Lemon. I've been cheering up Caboosey Caboose but he is SO sad. I wish there was something i could do to cheer tha littley little one up!" Honey-Lemon smirked. Oh god... Tucker groaned. Fucking hot and ditzy. Oh man how years ago that would have been amazing. Now that his eyes were set on someone else life was just handing him five years ago Tuckers dreams. 

"Aren't you going to answer her foul mortal?" Tucker blinked several times. He turned to see a bunny with red fur staring at him as it was being pet by Honey-Lemon. Not only that but the bunnies voice was deep, not liek how Tucker would have imagined. 

"Excuse Mr. FlameFourth" Honey-Lemon giggled. "You can take as much tickity tockety time you want! Mr. Flamefourths just angry because he hasn't had his biscuits yet. Ain't that right fuzzy wuzzy?" 

"Do not claim that i am appealed by those terrible snacks you give me" The bunny groaned. 

Tucker could take Cabooses cousin, he could take one of his friends being an A.I. and he could even take Felix secretly being a bad guy. What he couldn't take was a bunny with red fur talking as if he were the devil. He wasn't scared of the thing, but he was definitely intriqued. "Do you want to pet him?" Honey-Lemon asked. 

Tucker shrugged. "Sure whatever" He started petting Flamefourth, who seemed to loathe it. He tried biting Tucker a couple times but Tucker had good reflexes when it came to a pets jaws. When he was younger he had lots of pets. He would get bitten a lot and his parents couldn't care less, making him feed them all despite the pets not being his but they're pets. They even brought that fact up sometimes when Tucker got bitten. Claiming that by letting them bite him he was contaminating them. Of which, Tucker tried his best not to let them bite. He hated that speech...

"Wowza Mc-happy!" Honey-Lemon nudged him. "You are really really reeaallyy good at avoiding his bites. That is definitely a goody good thing. If he bites you, it scorches you, good thing im immune! Thats actually why his namely name is FlameFourth" Honey-Lemon told. It was at that point Tucker stopped petting the bunny rabbit. 

Flamefourth laughed. "Yes, fear me!" 

"Aww" Honey-Lemon hugged Flamefourth tightly. "Only humans can have dreams!" 

"Wait..." Tucker stared. Was she just being somewhat rabbit racist? Nah. After a while, they're conversations continued. Most of them regarding why Flamefourth could talk and stuff. According to her, it was just magic. Tucker didn't quite believe that was the whole story...

\---

Wash groaned. All he wanted to do was meet some of the new people at the party, instead when he walked in he met two guys who couldn't go one word without attacking or name-calling the other one. Wash was trying to break their fighting up, but it was to no avail. "C'mon you two. I haven't met you but haven't you spent years together or something? Aren't you friends?"

Leo thought for a moment. "Well yeah we have..."

"...spent years together" Cross concluded. 

"So..?" Wash started up, hopeful. 

"We did crack that code remember?" Cross reminded. "Which did help us get into blue base and take all their stuff once. That was kinda fun" 

Wash smiled. "See? You guys-"

"WE!?" Leo spat. Wash frowned. "You did nothing but drink an apple juice while i input the code and did all the hacking. Sidenote, my apple juice by the way..."

"Yeah yeah whatever" Cross glared. "It may have been YOUR apple juice but without me it wouldn't have tasted any good. Your tongue can't handle perfection!"

"THAT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE ANY SENSE!" Leo yelled. "First off- ow!" Leo groaned as Cross kicked him in the leg. 

"It makes sense! Stop ruining everything!" Cross shouted back, clearly agrivated. Before long they were punching and kicking eachother. Wash backed away slowly. 

Wash started looking around. He hadn't been there long and was hoping one of his friends were there, now that he no longer wanted to meet any more of what he expected were more crazy people. He quickly found Tucker but stopped his walking when he saw what he was doing. Of course... Wash sighed. Tucker was talking to a hot girl at a party. Real shocker there.

He started walking in the opposite direction only to bump into someone. A little startled, Wash took a few steps back and looked up. It was York. "Hey York. So, you and Carolina are here now? Came together i presume. You guys were always cute together" Wash smiled, wishing for the same kind of feeling with a certain someone else. 

"Oh, uh..." York laughed nervously. "I can see how you would think that, but um. We're just taking a break at the moment, like all relationships do! Every once in a while..." York stuttered.

Wash was stunned. Though York was trying to hide it, he could tell what happened. "Did you guys... break up?" Wash asked. York stayed silent. "B-but how? You guys were so perfect! There was a more likelihood of Felix and Locus coming back then you two breaking up!" 

"Well, its just... yeah we did" York frowned but quickly perked up a little. "We need to see different people. I mean, uh... cant stick to just one lady! Need to move around a little bit. Shake things up!" York seemed like he might cry. Wash could see right through Yorks facade. By no means was this guy happy or cool with the break up. 

"Why did she break up with you?" Wash questioned. 

"Who said anything about her breaking up with me! I definitely didn't" York stated. "We broke up on good terms. It was both of us that made the decision" York lied. In reality Carolina had broken up with him due to him not being the 'real' York. York would also be lying though if he said it had come out of nowhere. At first he had been trying his best to joke around a bit about it whenever it popped up in a conversation, but that didn't last. 

Wash couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew when York lied and this was definitely one of those times. Wash frowned. If they could break up, what chance did anyone else have? Especially not him and... and... Wash shook his head, still mildly defending the lie that he didn't love them.

Realising he had been silent for a while, Wash spoke up and started reassuring York there were more fish in the sea. He wasn't the best at those talks but did all he could to help. 

\---

When Caboose got up he put on a dark blue shirt. When he looked in the mirror he noticed it didn't look festive enough. Caboose grabbed a piece of paper, a marker and some sticky tape. He wrote on the small piece of paper Christmas and of course he mispelled it. He looked at the bed next to him, seeing that Mackenzie was still asleep. Mackenzie had been getting up early recently but Caboose knew that wasn't really her. Back when he and Mackenzie shared a room during Cabooses twelve to fourteen year old life she would always get up late. No matter how loud her alarm clock was in her bed she would be, sleeping...

Caboose left the room and saw the party in full swing. He couldn't see Church anywhere, but Caboose knew he would come. He had too. Caboose decided that to make sure he wouldn't miss it when Church came in, he would wait at the front door which is exactly what he did. Caboose waited for Church, waited and of course waited, but was surpsied when everyone had come except for Church. Maybe hes just late! Caboose presumed still waiting. Church was going to come, right?

\---

Tucker stopped discussing things with Honey-Lemon when everyone came in. He started to mingle with everyone else and things were going fine. That was, until he saw Caboose standing alone waiting for Church. Oh god... Tucker frowned. At first he figured to leave him and allow him to find out himself, but Tucker wasn't heartless. He made his way over to Caboose. He was going to tell him.

Caboose smiled when he saw Tucker and waved. "Hey Tucker! Im just waiting for Church... hes awfully late. What are you doing?" 

"Caboose... i need to tell you something..." Tucker sighed, not trying to look the soldier in the eye. He couldn't bare to see his face when he told him.

"Tell me what?" Caboose tilted his head to the side. 

"That..." Tucker clenched his fists pushing himself to say those next few words. "That... dude..." It stayed silent for a while, Caboose giving him a look of confusion. Tucker sighed. "Church, isn't coming..." And with that Caboose let a few tears get out. Tucker couldn't dare watch his friends face. With a broken voice, obviously devastated and upset Caboose let a couple words get out as he shivered. Sad and unable to move.

"W-what did you s-say...?"


	23. Chapter 22, The Christmas Party Act Twilight

"W-what did you s-say...?"

It was silent between the two for a while. Despite Cabooses comment being a question, Tucker didn't want to repeat himself for Cabooses sake. As Caboose stared, he let a couple tears get out. Caboose didn't really mind if he was caught crying for a good reason, which was honestly something Tucker kind of admired. Though Tucker figured Caboose would eventually change that point of view. Caboose was after all, one of the youngest...

Caboose started wiping away his tears. He looked up at Tucker. "H-how come?" Caboose asked. 

Tucker blinked several times. There was no way he was going to tell Caboose the real reason Church wasn't there. I mean, a small part of him did but he simply couldn't. Saying that Church was just an asshole would be like kicking Caboose further into the ground. So instead, he pet Caboose on the back several times and gave a weak smile. "He just... he was really busy..." 

"O-oh..." Caboose frowned but quickly gave a weak smile in response to Tuckers. "Well, if hes busy then that makes sense. Um... im going to go have some orange juice" And with that Caboose walked off, leaving a slightly regretful Tucker in his wake. Tucker really wanted to tell Caboose the truth, especially since deep down he knew it was the right thing but he just couldn't. Caboose was too innocent to know. 

"WHOS READY FOR SPIN THE BOTTLE!?" 

\---

Donut smiled as he laid the bottle in the middle of Red bases floor. Not everyone wanted to participate (Simmons, Grif, Caboose, Honey-Lemon and Daniel) and that did upset Donut at first but he figured it was fine. Well, he was mainly fine because be knew that Grif and Simmons had accidentally walked under the mistletoe together but still. Sure, It did eliminate some of the people he was planning to hook up but it was just one game. There were plenty coming up to set up some romantic tension. As everyone sat down in a circle Donut spun it and backed away, sitting down quickly. The first spin landed on Mike. The second on Carolina. 

As the two got up and kissed, all eyes were on York. He was trying to look like he didn't care but was failing miserably. Wash felt bad for York. He didn't deserve this. As Carolina and Mike stopped kissing they sat back down. Mike winked at her. "You know, if you ever want to do that again im fine with it" 

York clenched his fists. Carolina laughed. "In your dreams"

"Good thing i have dreams often then..." Mike smirked. Carolina chuckled a bit. Wash stared at York the whole time through their interaction. He looked like he was going to lose it. Understandably so too. It was almost like Carolina wanted him to feel awful. "Do you wanna get married?" Mike whispered so quietly that no-one else heard afterward.

Suddenly, Donut spun the bottle again. The first landed on Cross. He was praying for it to be one of the cute girls and was instantly disapointed when the second spin landed on Leo. They stared at eachother, everyone silent. They got up and walked in the opposite direction of eachother. Donut went wide-eyed. "WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING!?"  He screeched. 

Cross's face was emotionless as he turned to face Donut. "Listen, dude..."

"...we are NOT kissing" Leo finished. 

"OH YES YOU ARE" Donut stated and stood up suddenly, he grabbed the two by the collar. He pulled them face to face. They began blushing as their faces were inches apart. "Now, kiss" Donut smiled, which they'd be lying if they said looked completely non-threatening. When they refused, Donut pushed their faces together. Everyone besides Leo and Cross laughed. After that, the two left the game. 

They kept spinning the bottle for a while after that. There were some weird pairings who had to kiss but none of them refused to kiss and leave the game like Cross and Leo did. Soon enough, it was the final round and the only people who hadn't had to kiss anyone were Tucker, Wash and Mackenzie. Wash thought he was especially lucky. He only joined the game because he wanted to be apart of the majority, as dumb as that may sound it was true. It had taken him ages to once again have a family. Being away from them made him feel disconnected from that family. 

"One last spin!" Donut announced. He spun the bottle. 

They all watched intently. "This better be me..." Mackenzie sighed. "I've missed out on all the fun" Tucker could agree with her on that.

The first spin landed on Tucker. He mumbled finally before getting up and awaiting the next person. Everyone watched intently as the bottle spun again. It landed on Wash. The room went surprisingly silent. Wash and Tucker stared at eachother for the longest time. Wash got up and moved closer to Tucker. This was it! He thought. Yet before they could kiss they were both instantly knocked on the ground by Honey-Lemon as she rode on her scooter inbetween the two. Her scooter was hot pink with flower paintings on it. There was a small basket on the handlebars with Flamefourth sleeping in it.

"Oops! Sorry!" She called. "I was just wondery wondering when we were handing out presents? I'm thinking nowy now would be the perfect time!" Everyone stared at eachother and nodded except for Donut and Lopez. They all got up and made their way to the christmas tree, leaving Donut startled and Lopez silent.

"B-but... they were! It would have been, they- it was!" Donut was stuttering.

[She isn't wrong] Donut turned to face Lopez. He raised an eyebrow. [It was the perfect time to start opening the presents] Lopez told.

Donut growled and leant closer to Lopez. "But i needed Wash and Tucker to kiss! They're one of the couples i had planned" Donut whispered.

Lopez stared. [Is that why you're so upset about it?]

"Well obviously Lopez!" Donut informed. His stern look soon became a happy one though. "But don't worry! I have much more games planned that will set their hearts aflame" Donut beamed grabbing Lopez's hand. "Come on, we need to join the rest of the group! I dont wanna miss anything!" Donut said, dragging Lopez along to the christmas tree where the others already were.

\---

"OKAY EVERYONE!" Donut cheered. "I will start calling your names. You then come up and collect you're presents. Now, it appears some people didn't bring presents!" Donut stated, looking around. Tucker avoided eye-contact. "Well, because of those certain people i have decided to change one little thing. All the presents i have dubbed anonymous and wrapped will be put into a box. I'll call someone out and they'll grab a random present from the box unaware of what it is!" Simmons looked upset. Grif rolled his eyes. Most likely got a present for Sarge that he wouldn't get anymore... Grif presumed. 

[First one is for...] Lopez thought for a moment. He shrugged. [You know what this is shit no matter who i choose. How about you?] Lopez pointed to Mike. He groaned and got up. He picked a present from the box and opened it up. It was a box of oreos with a note on top of it. Simmons jumped at that. He began reading it silently in his head. He went wide-eyed. 

"Whats it say?" Neon asked. "The temptation is killing me. Im already dead so im not going again!"

Wash turned to face her confused. "Wait, what did you just say?" She covered her mouth upon his question.

"Oh, it says, uh..." Mike fidgeted with the note. Wash was a little annoyed his question was ignored but was far too interested in what the note said to care all too much. Suddenly, Mike put the note in his pocket and sweated a little. "It just said a really bad joke!" He lied.

The group raised an eyebrow at him. Honey-Lemon cut in smiling. "No joke is bad, it was surely surely a good one. What was the joke?" She asked.

"Oh! Right..." Mike bit his lip thinking. "It said, uh... what do you call a magic owl?" The room went silent. "HOOdini!" Mike said, trying to sound like he was reading it off the note.

Neon was the only one laughing at the joke. "Wowza! That joke was a HOOT!" She smirked. She got up and bowed receiving a couple boo's and some 'Seriously's?' Before she sat back down, Jay giving out a small chuckle at her pun. After all that, Mike went back to his seat and began eating the oreos. Whenever someone asked to see the note he wouldn't let them. Claiming it was his prize and no one else could have it. 

"Okay, okay. Lets calm down everyone!" Donut smiled brightly. "Next up is... Caboose!" 

Caboose smiled a bit before he got up and went over to the box. He certainly looked happy, but Tucker could see the truth. Tucker had been with the soldier for years and he definitely knew when one was faking emotion.

Caboose finally took out a present after scurrying around for a while and opened it up. It was a picture book. He smiled and skipped off. Maybe he could see it with Church later?

[Well that one was fitting] Lopez stated surprised. [Well, okay then. Lets see. You?] He pointed to Neon.

"FUCK YEAH!" She jumped up excitedly and went over to the box jumping right into it. The group turned to eachother as they heard her scurry around in the box. "Got one!" She lifted her head out of the box of presents showing off the one she got. Tucker rolled his eyes. This ones a nut. He figured. Tucker then turned over to Jay who seemed to be mumbling please be mine over and over again under his breath. It was quiet and so down to a whisper Tucker had to question several times if thats what he was actually saying. 

Suddenly she opened the present up. "NO WAY! HELL YEAH!" Neon jumped out of the box rapidly making a couple other presents bounce out aswell for Donut and Lopez to pick up. "You guys all suck! I clearly got the best one!" She told, revealing what she had gotten. A My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Pinkie Pie toy. She jumped up and down.

"Yes!" Jay whispered, smiling. It didn't take Tucker any more thinking to realise that Jay got her that one and because of what Donut said was hoping that the one he got would be recieved by his intended person. 

"Isn't that a little girls toy?" Tex questioned. 

"Action Figure!" Neon smacked Tex on the side of the head. 

Tex glared. "Yeah right cockbite" 

"Why you little! Wait till i turn that blonde hair white with fear as you'll be running away from me!" Neon informed, her brows furrowed.

"Doubt it" Tex smirked. 

"THATS IT! FEEL THE PAIN!" Neon pounced but was instantly pulled back by Jay. "Nebraska, let go of me! Im gonna, im gonna, im gonna...im...gonna..." And with that Neon started snoring. She was... asleep?

Jays eyes darted around the room akwardly. "Okay, so im just going to go back to our tent and set her down..." Jay told in a way that made it seem like it happened often, he started pulling her away very slowly, finding himself pain in every pull. He wasn't the strongest guy... "Any help?" He asked. Carolina pushed Wash over to him. "T-thanks Wash!"

"W-what!" Wash rapidly turned to face Carolina. "What the hell are you-"

"There going to be here a while Wash" She informed. "Might aswell get rid of your grudge now then later" 

Wash sighed and nodded, beginning to help lift up Neon. As they made it out the door and couldn't be heard by anyone Wash looked stern at Jay. "So, why the heck did you come and join us for the party?" Wash asked. 

"Huh, what do you mea-" 

"You know! Im here, your there. Why not stay there when you know im here?" Wash questioned. 

"Well, i figured we could be friends! Like old times, remember?" Jay smiled weakly, sweating a little. "I mean, we never really had any bad blood between us so i figured, HEY. Wash might miss me and is having trouble showing it. I should go over there! After all, i saved his life once-"

"You saved my life with bandages designed for five year olds because you sold the actual military healing kit for a croissant" Wash hissed. Jay stayed quiet, looking away. "And sure you saved my life once, but you nearly killed me! Oh wait, tried to kill me. BY SHOOTING ME IN THE FUCKING BACK!" Wash growled. 

"That was an accident!" Jay retaliated. 

"No it wasn't because you ran off to let me die instead of help, y'know, like a friend would?" Wash stated. It was quiet for a while. 

"Wash-"

"What!?" 

Jay sighed. "Im sorry"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you might have noticed, Mackenzies 'countryisms' have slowly died down in the last couple chapters. Reason? I like to believe that she just acts that way around strangers or people shes not comfortable around. Which kinda says a lot about how long shes been apart from Caboose being his cousin and all. Even in her phone call she talked like that because of Tucker. Deep down though, i think shes much more tied to the ground then the blood gulch crew. To strangers, shes bubbly and hyper but too friends shes mature and honest. You might notice that in the next chapters.
> 
> Also, what do you guys think about the newcomers? (Mainly Mackenzie) I tried to give them unique personalities so i can play them off the blood gulch crew. (I don't know when, but somehow i'm gonna write a conversation between Grif & Simmons and Cross & Leo)
> 
> Thank you for reading! -FanficNinja


	24. Chapter 23, The Christmas Party Final Act

Jay sighed. "Im sorry"

Wash stared silently. Jays voice sounded broken and sincere. Yet, despite the clear emotion put into those words it didn't make Wash forgive him. It just made Wash realise he needed to use a softer tone. He didn't need to waste time and energy yelling at Jay, so it was probably better to just act casual. After all, like Carolina said before, Its better to get rid of his grudge now then later. He wasn't going to do that exactly... more or less try to forgive Jay a little, even though he know it'd be hard considering what he'd done. 

"Um... Nebra- Jay" Wash forced a smile. Though Jay could tell the smile was fake, he appreciated the thought to fake one. How sad as that might be to think that was nice, he didn't know. "I'm going to try my best to be nice to you, but you have to remember i'm not just going to forgive you like that. Do you remember South?"

"Dakota? One of the twins. Yeah i remember her!" Jay stated.

"Well, she did the same thing as you and do you wanna know what happened to her?" Wash asked. 

Jay nodded. "Of course, who doesn't? After a severe injury she claimed she deserved, agent South left the army and took a well deserved vacation for a week paid by Project Freelancer and then got stationed. I think she went to Hawaii actually!" Jay told. 

Wash's left eye twitched. "Um... no. I shot her and then full on exploded her remains-"

"Oh, that explains all the marks!" Jay beamed. 

"W-what? Marks" Wash choked. 

"Yeah! She was scorched, shot and all sorts of stuff. I can only imagine the sanity of the guy who made those wounds! Oh wait, that was you wasn't it? Um...besides that, It was astonishing she survived. Well, she was going to die but command told me that an agents, you again, story was fishy. So they sent me and i managed to bring her back to life and heal her right up! One of my most impressing feats" Jay boasted. 

"You, you.... BROUGHT HER BACK TO LIFE!?" Wash freaked, dropping Neon by the realisation. 

"Augh! What the hell!?" Neon got up off the ground and looked at the two soldiers who had been holding her. "Wait, did i fall asleep again? Oh, im such a kidder" She chuckled. "Um...what are we talking about?" She studied Washs angry expression. "Did he find out the truth about us?" She asked, scared. Jay shook his head wildly to shut her up. She went wide-eyed. "So, what is this about?"

"The fact that THIS GUY HEALED SOUTH!"  Wash told. 

Neon stayed silent for a while, raising an eyebrow. However, she quickly smiled and pet Jay on the back. "Oh, i remember that. You used my healing unit didn't you?" She asked. 

"Yeah, im pretty sure" Jay nodded, nervous about Washs reaction.. 

Wash stared. He was usually a quite calm and content person. I mean, sometimes he could get overly mad but not over something like this. He was used to out of nowhere information that changed what he knew. It happened more often then what he would like. But, for some reason this realisation just cut the cake. South... fucking South... was still alive!? This made Wash all the more mad then before. Why? Because there were so many people who would have known. Delta would have known, yet he didn't say anything. Carolina would have most certainly known aswell, being connected with Freelancer for so long as she was. Why wouldn't they tell him!? Because of this new bit of information, Wash should have been mad at his friends. Not Jay, the guy who was just doing his job... but he couldn't help it. So, without a moment of thought, Wash pounced and started choking the Ex-Freelancer.

"W-Wash...u-ugh" Jay coughed, trying to remove Washs hands yet as said before, he wasn't the strongest person. 

"HOLY CRAP, NEBRASKA!!!" Neon panicked. She grabbed Jay tightly and for a split second Wash could have sworn her eyes turned to a bright, glowing blue. Wash would have concentrated harder to see if that was the case but before he could do anything more he was pushed back with a loud bang by what looked like a forcefield appearing around them, knocking Wash into something hard that made his back make a small cracking noise before Washs vision went black and all he could hear was a loud ringing noise. As the ringing slowly began to clear he heard a voice call to him. A voice all to familiar that he would have smiled and opened his eyes if he had enough strength to...

"Dude, are you okay!? Wash! WASH!!!" 

\---

The loud bang had certainly disrupted the nice atmosphere of the party. With Carolina, Tucker and York all running outside to see what had caused the noise. Based solely on their rather fearful reactions heard Grif could only assume something bad had happened. He was actually resisting going out there to check on what had happened himself. He didn't want to go out there and be apart of something dramatic. It just wasn't like him at all. Though that might sound somewhat selfish, he denied that in his own mind. 

"What do you think happened?" Grif turned to see Caboose. The blonde was sipping an orange juice from a swizzle straw whilst in one hand holding a plate full of cookies. "They yelled Washingtubs name, did something happen to him?" Caboose tilted his head to the side. 

"Eh. Probably dude" Grif replied.

This made Caboose frown. Grif wasn't like Wash or Tucker when it came to talking to Caboose. He wasn't going to lie to him like they would in this situation. Not sugar coat the truth and all that for his sake. Caboose deserved to know just as much as they did, about what was happening in the world around him and his friends. Back when they had to fight off Hargroves forces, when Tucker got that new suit, the door opened and they had to fight everyone off Caboose deseved to know why Doc didn't come out with them. He shouldn't have been told what he was told and SHOULD have been told the truth. Then again, Grif didn't put up that much of a fight to tell him. He regretted that in some ways... knowing Caboose will never know what happened to one of his friends...

Grif snapped out his thoughts when he realised how silent he had been and how Caboose was no longer there. Presumably to see what had happened to Wash. Grif sighed and watched as Simmons made his way back inside. Wait, did he check on Wash? Grif was honestly a little shocked he hadn't noticed Simmons had left. He personally never noticed, for some reason that made him feel a little mad at himself. He didn't really know why. When Simmons came and stood next to Grif, Grifs curiosity got the better of him and he just had to ask. 

"What happened to Wash?" Grif questioned. 

"Well, its kind of hard to explain" Simmons stated. "He was unconcious under a tree and a forcefield of some high energy concentration was lingering around Neon and that guy Wash had a problem with" Simmons informed. "What i can only figure is that Wash was close to them and the forcefield got set off. Probably an accident... but..."

"But?" Grif raised an eyebrow. 

"There were hand marks around Jays neck. I dont want to think badly of Wash, i really dont but..." Simmons bit his lip. Grif stared confused. "I think that forcefield could have been self defense-"

"Against who?" Grif interrupted. It was silent between the two. It didn't take any longer for Grif to realise what Simmons was suggesting. "Dude, you dont think it was againt Wash, do you?"

Simmons shrugged. "Yes...no...maybe! I dont know... probably" Simmons admitted. "I mean...uh..." He stuttered. "It just makes the most sense and all that soooo... you know. I dont want to think badly of him, i really dont but its just... well-"

"Its the most likely?" Grif prompted. Simmons nodded. Grif leant against the wall, pondering the possibility. "Are you gonna tell the others what you think or..?"

"N-no! Of course not. I'm probably wrong anyway. Wash isn't like that" Simmons retaliated. Though there was true passion in his tone, he didn't think he was wrong. Not one bit. He was almost positive what he figured was the truth and what had happened. He just couldn't tell them... mainly for Tuckers sake. 

\---

Church stared out his window at red base. Not because he was curious about the party, but because of the loud bang he heard. It startled him when he was trying to go to sleep. Something was off, something bad had happened and his suspicions were correct when there was a knock on his door. He opened it to see Caboose. Church smiled at him. As much as he didn't want to, now he could finally apologise! Nows the time, Caboose can forgive me and all this fucking shit can get resolved. Things are finally turning arou-

"Church, Wash is unconcious and bleeding... they wont tell me if hes okay, can you tell me? I want to know the truth and you wont lie to me" Caboose sobbed a little. Church stared. This was not about him, this was about his best friend being lied to on the statistics of an injured friend. At that moment Church knew what he had to do. He had to comfort Caboose. But he wasn't going to lie, or sugar coat the truth. Hes done that once before with Doc and he wasn't going to do that again. Church sighed. He was going to find out what had happened, get the honest facts and then tell Caboose...

...no matter how gritty and bloody said facts were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, i ended it on a cliffhanger. Sort of. As you can see, Nebraska and Wash do have some history and i can't wait to explore more of it. I already have most of it planned too. Mackenzie is going to get more importance too as the story progresses. Remember, every comment helps me know what i'm doing right so feel free to critique. :)
> 
> Thank you for reading- FanficNinja


	25. Chapter 24, Coffee And Problems

Tucker stared at Wash. The guy was still unconcious and it had been three days. Not only that, but Tucker still didn't know why he was unconcious. Simmons was the first one out before all of them and he had to see something. He just wasn't saying what. Tucker would be more mad at Simmons for that, but at the moment he was focusing all his anger on Jay and Neon. Unlike Simmons who you could only presume knew something, Jay and Neon obviously did see something no matter what they said... and if you asked Tucker? He would say they were involved in someway.

Carolina pretended she didn't think Jay and Neon did anything, but it was obvious she thought otherwise. Whenever one of the two were in the room with her she'd watch her back or keep a close eye on them. Not only that but the two definitely acted suspicious. The last time Tucker saw Jay near the unconcious Wash Jay had felt his neck and whispered that it wasn't his fault. Yeah right... Tucker thought. As for Neon, she avoided eye contact with EVERYONE. Well, not all the time, just when Wash was the subject of conversation. Mighty suspicious if you asked Tucker.

"Hey Tucker" 

Tucker turned to see Church walk in. Tucker hadn't seen Church for a while now that he thought of it. He was going to see him after the party, you know because he lived with him but when Wash got hurt he never went home. He just stood by Washs side the whole time. "Hey dude..." Tucker sighed.

"Glad to see me?" Church spoke sarcastically. He was expecting to not be welcomed in a friendly way. 

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Well if it makes you feel better dude, im concentrating my anger on someone else" Tucker told, thinking about Jay. Though Tucker knew Neon was apart of it somehow, Jay was the one Wash had a grudge against. There would have been a reason for his grudge, and if what Tucker thought was true? Understandably so. Tucker knew they were once friends, but how did that change anything? Hardly any of Washs friends were trustworthy, even Carolina at one point. It was kind of sad... "How'd you know Wash got hurt?"

"You dont think shit like this happens and i dont hear of it right?" Church joked. "I may not be on everyones good side right now but i still get told things" Church stated. It was silent for a while. Church gave an akward cough and tried his best at a sentimental look. "How's he doing?"

"Not that good dude" Tucker informed. 

"Any injuries?" Church asked. 

"I dunno. Carolina was kinda vague. All i know is his back got fucked up" Tucker told. "Carolina said he might not wake up... but i doubt it"

Church nodded taking it all in. Maybe i shouldn't tell Caboose that pa- no! I need to tell him the truth! Except for that bit... no no no... i have to tell him. I promised. I HAVE to. "Sounds bad" Church commented. 

"Yeah no shit" Tucker groaned. 

"So um... im concentrating my anger on someone else huh?" Church mocked. "Who?" Church questioned. Tucker stayed silent at the question. He didn't want to say who and he wasn't going to lie to Church. As Church was still waiting for an answer Tucker simply got up and began walking out the room. "Hey where the fuck are you going?"

"Dude, im still mad at you. Cant tell you all my personal shit" Tucker smirked. He looked over at Church who judging by his expression didn't get Tucker was joking. "Ugh, dude im joking. I just need to make some coffee. This is just been way too much shit for me recently" And with that Tucker left the room. 

Church turned to the unconcious Wash. He needed him to be okay, for Cabooses sake. Church didn't think Caboose could handle another one of his friends deaths. Wait... Church groaned. We still haven't told Caboose the truth about Doc yet! Fuck me, now I feel guilty. Church sighed and got up off his chair and went off in a similair fashion to Tucker. After all, he needed coffee too...

\---

"Who wants coffee?" Donut asked bursting through the door holding a tray covered in coffee mugs. Each one with a coffee made for its specific red team member inside it. He frowned when no one replied. Looking around he noticed everyone had bags under their eyes and looked concerned. Probably about Wash... Donut thought. It was quite an unusual sight. I mean, for the most part. Simmons sometimes had bags under his eyes because he usually wanted to get up early and impress Sarge. As for Sarge he always had bags under his eyes, claiming that if he ever went to sleep the pesky blues would come and attack. Grif? Grif NEVER had bags under his eyes. He usually had a good nights rest. Then again, he did sleep more often then the rest. Definitely too much sleep now that Donut thought of it. 

"Aren't you going to give us the coffee Pinkie?" Grif asked groaning. 

Donut sighed and handed Grif his coffee. "Its lightish red Grif" Donut protested. "And second of all, you're welcome. I made one for each of you!" Donut smiled handing Simmons and Sarge theirs (Simmons being the only one to say thank you) before Donut then proceeded to set the tray down and take off his coffee sipping it. As he did though he noticed one lonely mug left on the tray. Lopez's coffee. "Hey, where's Lopez?"

"Lopez is out fixing the jeep. Its been mucking up a lot recently, figured it just needed a good hammering to get the gears working!" Sarge informed. 

Donut nodded. "Okay, i'll just give him his coffee. Then i'll be right back!" Donut announced walking away from his team. They all gave him a small wave as the pink soldier headed to the garage where the jeep was located. As he opened the door he was greeted with a gust of wind coming through the garages main door, which had been left open. It was cold and refreshing. Donut made his way over to Lopez. "Hey Lopez, i made you coffee!"

Lopez looked up. [Thanks i guess. Atleast thats something that can help me not focus on how shit our jeep is. I actually managed to tell Sarge to not take it on rocky road for a month and he repeated what i said so i knew he understood me, BUT HE DID IT ANYWAY. When i just barely managed to get him to understand me when i asked why he did it he said that he thought i said to get Grif off rockyroad for a month. Grif still blames me for (and i quote) taking him off the god of all icecreams]

Donut beamed handing Lopez his coffee. "Sounds like a great week!" 

Lopez rolled his eyes. He grabbed the coffee and began drinking it. Whenever he tasted something it always made him remember how lucky he was to be a robot that could eat and drink. Not only that but taste it, literally taste it. Technology sure had evolved since the war against aliens ended. It still shocked Lopez to this day that humans were the ones to create him, not aliens. His parts, his wires, his interfaces and his metastable compacity. All thanks to humans. It really made him re-consider his opinion on humanity itself. 

Lopez always saw humanity as a tower of cards. On the outside it looks all neat and like a perfect sustainable force, yet it takes very little to get it to tumble. He sometimes saw red base like that too. If you were an outsider you'd just say it was a military operation. Normal, fine and perfectly stable. But on the inside it basically is on the verge of tumbling. It was a shock it hadn't broken down by now actually. 

"Welp! I have to go back inside. Bridesmaids is on" Donut stated, beginning to walk off. "Have fun fixing the jeep!" As Donut walked inside he took a seat next to Simmons. "Hey Simmons?" Donut whispered, making sure no one else in red base could hear. 

"Yeah Donut?" Simmons whispered back. 

"Do you think me and Lopez could be a thing?" 

\---

Caboose liked walking. It was nice and took his mind off things. Caboose liked to think walking liked him too. He walked a lot so they'd be friends, right? Or what if walking was secretly a villain? Caboose pondered that. What if walking was a scheme that helped walking do something evil? Like burn toast!? Or spill orange juice!? OR THROW AWAY PERFECTLY GOOD COOK-

"Caboose, i need to talk to you urgently!" 

Caboose turned to see Delta. He'd seen him come off the ship with York, Wash, Carolina and Tex but hadn't seem him since? Where had he been? "Hey Delta, where have you been?"

"I've been collecting information to store to make sure my concerns are correct and unfortunately they are almost at one hundred percent. That still leaves a one percent chance and i am not going to do anything drastic for nothing. I need you to help me make sure that my suspicions are either completely right or wrong" Delta told. 

"Why me?" Caboose tilted his head to the side. 

"Caboose, i am sorry for it to sound like this but my issues could regard someone dangerous. There is a high chance they would kill whoever came, knowing who this person is everyone i could ask doesn't stand a chance. So the best option is to pick the least useful who has a chance of agreeing so incase of death there will not be a damper on the team as it is. We need good people to stay if suspicions are correct. I cant go alone, my a.i. doesn't support that so o need a host" Delta informed. 

"UM...okay. That was interesting but uh, if you dont mind could you just repeat everything you just said?" Caboose asked. 

Delta shook his head. "Caboose, If i am right the person will not be where we need to go for very long. We must hurry!" Delta stated. 

Caboose nodded. "Okay then little green guy" He took the A.I. and followed Deltas instructions on where to go. Caboose wondered what was dangerous. Was it walking? No. Delta wouldn't be making Caboose walk then. Running was the real enemy... soon they came to a stop. Caboose looked around a corner. There he saw an angry looking soldier talking to someone through an earpiece. 

The person turned. It took hardly any time for Caboose to notice who it was. "Felix?"

"Hey buddy" Felix raised his gun. 

"Caboose, i suggest you start running" Delta instructed. "There is a three percent chance you can make it out of this without getting sho-"

*GUNSHOT*

\---

"HUH?" Mackenzie jumped up. 

"What is it? Why did you jump?" Mike turned to face her. 

She sat back down and rubbed her forehead. "I dont know. I think it was my cousin senses, but what could be dangerous in this canyon?"

"Dunno. Maybe he just fell down or something" Mike suggested, not showing how he felt that her 'cousin' senses were absolute rubbish. Mackenzie sighed, not so convinced. She began to get up. "Oh c'mon Mackenzie, it was probably nothing. Probably a false alarm. Like you said, what could be SO dangerous in this canyon?" He asked. "I mean, if it was Daniel yeah, who knows what he'd do all alone..." He stated solemnly. Mackenzie looked away from him, knowing what he was implying Daniel would do. Not to say he wouldn't though. "But your cousin? He's a war-hero or some shit on Chorus. He can take care of himself" 

She took a deep breath and sat back down. "Maybe your right... probably nothing" Mackenzie said, trying to convince herself. Caboose was fine. There was nothing here that could hurt him. Not any thing he couldn't get over that is, he was a pretty strong guy. Caboose. Was. Fine.

He had to be.

"I can tell you're still worrying about it" Mike said, his voice kind but also slightly annoyed. "Just forget about it.

"I can't" Mackenzie told. "This is something Cabby we're talking about hun. Do ya really think-" 

"I do" He interrupted. She stared at him. "Listen, just forget about it. Its never going to happen..." His eyes wandered away from her.

Mackenzie blinked. "Are we still talking 'bout Cabby or..?" She tilted her head to the side as she noticed Mike wasn't concentrating on the matter at hand but something else. 

'"It just won't happen" He was choking up. Mackenzie watched on, confused. "It will never happen" Mike said, tears welling in his eyes. Mackenzie pat him on the back, not knowing what he was talking about. "Heh, look at me. You're worried about some good shit like your cousin and i'm thinking of my own problems" He forced a laugh. "All because i can't seem to find the one. Anyone" 

Mackenzie gave him a weak smile. "Its okay hun" She comforted. "You'll find the one someday" She assured. "And i bet ya she'll be hotter then the sun" She joked. Mike snorted. 

"You know its not usually women saying that" He informed, chuckling a little as he spoke.

"I don't care" She shrugged. "Now, tell me whats going on..." She pleaded. Mike looked at her, considering it before he nodded hesitantly. 

"You see, i was just-"

\---

Felix let out a threatening laugh as he stepped towards Cabooses body. He knelt down and inspected him. "Armors useless, of course" He remarked. "Wait, what?" He sounded surprised as Delta emerged from the suit. 

"Oh no" Delta sighed.

"Oh yes" Felix laughed. "This is too good to be fucking true..."


	26. Chapter 25, What To Do

Church had no idea where he was going. He had been looking for Caboose and hadn't found him anywhere. The canyon wasn't that big so it shocked Church how he hadn't found him already. Soon enough, he was entering a part of the canyon he hadn't seen nor been in before. It was funny. Despite all the shit that had gone down in Blood Gulch how much exploring did they really do? The answer was simple. Not much.

Church looked down to see footprints. Were they Cabooses? Church didn't have any idea but that didn't stop him from shouting loudly to see if Caboose was nearby. "CABOOSE! BUDDY! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU!?"

"C-Church..?"

The voice was faint, nearly down to a whisper. Church walked towards it concerned. "Caboose?" Church called once more. "Are you okay?"

"C-chur..."

Cabooses voice trailed off as if he was without strength. "Caboose!?" No reply. "CABOOSE!?" Church yelled at the top of his lungs. After a long silence which made it clear that Caboose wasn't going to answer him again, Church began running to where the voice had been. Church soon found himself just outside a cave with a passed out Caboose infront of it. "CABOOSE!? BUDDY!?" Church knelt down.

He started examining Caboose. He almost instantly discovered a bullet hole right. through Cabooses armor. "No! Caboose... buddy, wake up. C'mon" He shook the soldier lightly. He rested his head upon Cabooses chest. A heartbeat! Oh thank god. Church took a breath of relief and began lifting Caboose up which wasn't easy to do. He figured he was kind of lucky for Caboose to be wearing his armor. If he wasn't he could've... could've...

Church shook his head, trying not to think about it. As he dragged Caboose to blue base he saw Mackenzie tapping her foot lightly on the ground, staring up at the sky. She looked stressed. That didn't stop Church though from calling out to her. "MACKENZIE! OVER HERE!"

Mackenzie jumped up, turning to face Church. "Oh hey hun, hey co..." She trailed off and instantly began running towards them. She lifted up half of Caboose as she noticed Church was having some trouble. "What the homocidal hay happened?" She questioned. "Did you do this?" Mackenzie asked sternly.

"What? NO!" Church retaliated. "I just found him like this!"

Despite the anger in Churchs voice Mackenzie paid no mind. She was far too concerned about Caboose to even care a little bit. "Please Cabby, be okay..." She mumbled. "I need you..."

\---

Wash opened his eyes. He instantly saw Tucker fast asleep on a chair by his side. "What happened?" Wash asked himself, rubbing his eyes. Judging by all the hospital equipment around Wash soon came to the conclusion he had been there for days. What could have... wait....

_"W-Wash...u-ugh"_

_"HOLY CRAP, NEBRASKA!!!"_

Wash suddenly remembered everything. He remembered snapping, he remembered starting to choke Jay, he remembered Neon calling out and then he remembered being pushed back into something hard. He didn't understand what had pushed him back, or maybe he did know and he was wrong about remembering it all. Wash stretched and quickly flinched in pain. Oh god, his back. It wasn't just hurting, it was aching. He could literally feel every area on his back that made contact with the hard object.

After that you might think Wash was upset, but to tell the truth he wasn't. Wash was relieved it wasn't something much worse. When he was in Project Freelancer Wash **had** had a lot worse. He had been cut, bruised and scarred in basically every place imagineable. It hurt like hell. Even some of THOSE bruises still hurt today, and Freelancer was ages ago! It was quite stunning really how Wash hadn't died yet.

"Dude, YOU'RE AWAKE!" Wash snapped out of his thoughts to see Tucker smiling brightly. Wash tried his best to smile back, trying his hardest to disregard the large pain on his back. Clearly Carolina, who was in the next room over had heard Tuckers outburst as she almost instantly ran in to Washs room grinning.

"Wash, i cant believe you're awake!" Carolina proclaimed.

Wash gave a weak smile. "So um, how long was i out?"

\---

"Do you think me and Lopez could be a _thing_?"

Simmons stared blankly at Donut. "But, um... Donut" Simmons stuttered, trying to find words to fit the situation. What words could fit this situation? "You're a... and hes a... well you know. A _robot_."

"Do you think i dont know that Simmons?" Donut protested. "Besides, what does that have to do with anything?"

"WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO-"

"Uh... Simmons"

Simmons turned to see Grif and Sarge eyeing him and Donut. Simmons gave an akward smile before turning to face Donut once again, remembering this time to keep his voice at a whisper. "What does that have to do with anything? Are you serious. He's a robot and you're a human"

"So you're saying that a robot can only date a robot and a human can only date a human? My god Simmons, i never saw you as that type" Donut stated. "And we claim Sarge is old fashioned!"

Simmons raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what are you taking from this?"

"Simmons, this isn't one hundred years ago" Donut informed. "Anyone can love anyone. You shouldn't not allow that just because of what kind of person they are! Thats just racist and my gosh Simmons i thought you were better then that. Clearly not!"

"WHAT!?" Simmons shouted. Noticing he once again recieved everyones attention he spoke again in a whisper. "What? Donut, no. Thats not... i'm not a racist!"

"Are you sure?" Donut asked. "Because this is the second time!"

"Second time? When did-"

"Back in Valhalla Simmons!" Donut reminded. "You were against Lopez because he was a robot. It was so rude too. Oh! And when the Meta was coming and Lopez had that great idea you said it was stupid! My word Simmons, you need help!"

"Ugh... you! But..." Simmons sighed. He wasn't going to change Donuts mind about this. "Fine, whatever Donut. I'm a racist" Simmons groaned. Might aswell play the part. After they got over that Donut stopped talking to Simmons but that didn't stop Simmons from thinking about what he said. Do you think me and Lopez could be a thing? What did he mean by that? Did he have a crush on him? No, thats impossible! Right..?

\---

It didn't take Jay and Neon long before they found out Wash was awake. The news spread quickly. Judging by how they talked to him, they figured Wash only got half the story. Didn't know exactly what made him unconcious. Hopefully for their sake he would never figure it out. As Jay slurped his orange juice and Neon laid back in the grass she turned to him.  "Do you think they'll figure out our secret?" She questioned.

"What? Probably. Wash will remember eventually" Jay replied honestly.

"No, not that secret. The other one..." Neon spoke. "About you know..." She pointed to herself.

Jay shook his head, instantly realising what she was referring too. "No, they wont know. They cant know" Jay informed. "If they did..." He stayed silent for a while.

"If they did then" Neon tilted her head to the side, awaiting him to finish his sentence.

Jay took a deep breath. "They'd have to die"

 


	27. Chapter 26, Bringing Back Memories Plus Old Friends

When Wash was finally awake he was asked a bombard of questions. What happened? Are you alright? Could what happened to you happen to any of us? (That last one was Grif) of which he couldn't answer them all. Instead he just told the simple answer and left it at that. He didn't want to over complicate things. Wash would have liked to go back in his bunk in the aircraft and have some peace and quiet but he couldn't walk at the moment. He just had to wait until his back healed, which would definitely take some time.

Tucker had told Wash that if he ever needed something just to ask him, Carolina had said the same thing aswell. However, Wash still hadn't asked them for anything, despite in truth being rather hungry. The only thing he had eaten once getting up was an Oreo Bar that Grif snuck in for him. Carolina had told everyone that Wash shouldn't really have anything sweet but Grif still gave it to Wash anyway. Saying to gobble it up quick before the bitch comes. Of which, Wash did. Giving a small 'thank you' before gobbling it all up as instructed. 

Wash had actually remembered all the visits from when he woke up. In what order, what was said, their body language etc. Wash had a pretty good memory most of the time, so remembering it wasn't too hard. Wash remembered that Tucker and Carolina were first but that was mainly due to the fact they were there when he woke up. They're the ones that had told him how long he had been unconcious and stuff like that. Donut had come in second, bring Lopez with him. They bought 'get well' muffins but they were blueberry and Wash was allergic. A shame too. The muffins did look really good.

They said it wasn't a waste though. Grif who they claimed told them the best flavor to make could eat them. _Wait a minute..._ Wash groaned. _Grif knows im allergic to blueberry! Did he seriously just say that to pack in another meal? Heh, maybe thats why he brought me an Oreo Bar. Guilt over the muffins_. Wash sighed, recalling the next visit which just so happened to be Grifs. It was funny. Grif hadn't actually come with Simmons surprisingly. Wash decided not to ask about it which was somewhat okay because Grif had told him anyway. According to him Simmons had a bit of a cold at the moment.

While all of these former visits were usually just about an hour apart from eachother the next few were a bit more spread apart. Though Tucker and Carolina had dropped into his room once more to ask how he was doing, the next proper visit happened two days after the previous. It was Sarge. He wasn't usually the most emotional (unless it was regarding red team soldiers) but he did actually offer some kind of support for Wash. Even if what he said was practically coated in disregarding the blue team.

The next one to have happened was Simmons which came merely a week after Sarges. He apologised for not coming earliar stating that he had a cold. Giving comfirmation to what Grif had said earliar in the month. Simmons had asked if Wash was okay and if he remembered what happened. When Wash had said he didn't remember it all Simmons seemed disapointed to say the least. Why did he feel that way? Wash had no clue.

The last visit Wash had was with Jay and Neon. Though Wash was not excited to see Jay, he was grateful for them paying him a visit. Not only that but he would get to meet someone new. Neon. Its actually funny. Neon for some reason reminded Wash of Agent Alaska from Project Freelancer. Yet that was impossible! Alaska was dead and even still there were some things Neon had done Alaska never would have even considered doing. They also looked different.

Neon had two different eye colours (Pink and blue) and her hair was blonde. She let it fall to her back and over her shoulders and wore something no father in his right mind would ever allow his daughter to wear. Alaska on the other hand had brunette hair tied up in a nice bun. She wore only military clothing and had green eyes. Wash wasn't going to lie about it, but he did admire her from afar once. She was stunning. It also didn't help that it was Washs fault she died.

Now, Wash wasn't there when she died. That credit could be given to Carolina, North and a couple rookie soldiers that the project was trying to decide to keep or not, but Wash was meant to be there. He had gotten drunk (thanks a lot York) the night before and was suffering a hangover. Alaska decided to fill in for him despite how much the director tried to interject. She had no reason to be there honestly. She wasn't in Washs team, just the one before. It was odd but she was stronger then Wash, really she should have moved onto the following group. But she didn't. Not that she didn't want to of course! The director wouldn't allow it. It was if he was holding her back.

Alaska loathed the director. It surprised Wash how come she didn't leave the programme. She always complained about the secrecy and bad planning put into missions. Not only that, but when Idaho, Iowa and Ohio left the organisation she didn't buy it. Saying stuff like 'Believe him if you want, but that dick did something' and 'They never had an urge to leave. They wanted to stay and fight like real soldiers. Something that asshole doesn't know anything about'

She was very strong minded about what she believed in. Apparantly thats what made her die. She had been shot down by some bounty hunters due to the fact she wouldn't protect the director. Stubborn of her really. But still, Wash did like her. The way she talked, how she did things. She had an explosive flare in everything she did. Sometimes she cracked little jokes on missions, sometimes she snapped at those who cracked little jokes on said missions. She was an absolute powerhouse.

Too bad she let that 'powerhouse' get in the way of her job.

\---

"Okay, so all you have to do is fall backwards. Then i'll catch you. Its called trust falling. Alright?" Simmons informed. He had been trying to prove his theory on what happened by conversing with Jay, but that didn't happen. Instead Jay didn't say a word and simply told how he didn't know Simmons that well to trust him. In an attempt to recieve that trust Simmons had started up trust falling to prove himself. Jay who was getting ready to fall into Simmons arm didn't see that, and was honestly a little petrified.

Jay shook a bit. He started to fall but instantly placed his foot down to stop it making himself stand up again. It annoyed Simmons. "Yeah, um do you know where Neon is? I think she could do this. Not me though. So how about-"

"Wait? Don't tell me this actually scares you..." Simmons couldn't believe it. "Weren't you a Freelancer?"

"Um... yeah but..." Jay stuttered a little. He wasn't the best freelancer. Not triplet level bad but still bad. The organisation had considered leaving him behind a couple times too but the director objectified. "Well, i just have to go have lunch" Jay said, a little proud of his excuse. "I didn't have some today"

"Uhuh. Sure" Simmons said sarcastically.

"Besides, i dont see you trying to fall in my arms" Jay informed.

"Because im just a sim trooper!" Simmons retaliated. "We're allowed to be weak and scared. However you're a freelancer. One of the most strongest group of soldiers out there!" Jay chuckled, thinking about the triplets. _God, did Wash never say anything about them?_ Judging by how you've been acting i dont really think you're that fit to be in the programme" Jay went wide-eyed. "I mean, not to be rude but hasn't anyone told you this before?"

Jay flinched at that remark. Memories pouring into his mind.

_"Why did you get in? Delaware was right about you all along... you are a loser"_

_"Nebraska, you are the biggest moron i have ever met"_

_"You cant even shoot a target! You're military training resulted in you failing. Just leave. You're useless here"_

_"Well i dont know who you are but im sure you're alright. Cant be worse off then that yoghurt magician mascot i dated once. He had a fear of government lizards... not to say thats irrational though. They DO watch us..."_

That last one was something Neon had said to him. Jay smiled. As much as he was given crap there were atleast those who helped him back up when he was kicked down. The reds and blues. Not these ones. Simmons, Grif, Church etc. It wasn't them. It was his reds and blues. Back in blood valley... Honey-Lemon, Mike, Zachary etc. Those soldiers were who he was referring to.

Neon especially.

"Heh, i have been told that Simmons" Jay stated. "But if i am to be honest..?"

Simmons tilted his head to the side. "Yeah?"

Jay smiled. "I think you just gotta think about the positives..."

\---

Church and Mackenzie laid Caboose down on blue bases couch. He was still asleep which made them worry. "Are ya sure we shouldn't get Carolina?" Mackenzie questioned. "Thats a real shellfish shot in him" Her countryisms strangely getting more confusing the more freaked out she was.

"Yeah. Im sure" Church replied. He didn't want Carolina near him. Though she never told Tucker, Church knew she was considering taking Wash off the healing unit. Killing him. Saying he didn't have a chance to live. Church wasn't going to take that chance.

"Okay then. But we are teapot telling them right?" Mackenzie raised an eyebrow. Church shook his head. "What! But what are we gonna do? Theres no medic here. Ya told me Frankie Docs gone so who else do we have? Carolinas the only one who can help us right now! I dont wanna cous to die!" She said panicked. "Who did this!? I'm gonna kill 'em!" She hissed.

"I don't know who hurt him but..." Church thought for a moment. "Just, pass me you're phone. I know someone" Mackenzie did as she was instructed. When Church grabbed her phone he noticed that her background was of a cat trying to eating a chair. "Really?" He stared.

"It makes me feel all warm and feline fuzzy" Mackenzie told. "Pun intended"

Church rolled his eyes and began pressing the numbers. Hopefully he remembered this right. When he did that he dialed the number. He pressed the phone against his ear and waited. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon..." He mumbled.

_"Hello? Doctor Emily Grey here. Who is th- oh dead body, you flinched. Looks like the amount of electric pulses do increase uncontrollable leg movement after death. Oh, your familys going to be so happy! Oh, nevermind, you're dead again. Ha! Anyways, sorry. Who is this?"_

Church sighed. "Its me Church"

_"CHURCH!? I thought you were-"_

"Yeah, yeah questions later. Listen Caboose is uncouncious after a gunshot hit him so can you come? We're in outpost seventeen. You're the only one capable to help us right now"

"Oh, uh. Okay! I'll be right there!"

_*HANG UP*_

"Now who in ol' train chairs was that?" Mackenzie asked.

Church smiled weakly. "Just an old friend..."

\---

Charles Palomo had gotten excited before. Plenty excited. Though, not as much as he was at this very moment. Emily Grey had brought him and the others to come with her to see Tucker and all that again. It was going to be so much fun. Jensen and Andersmith was just as excited aswell to see their old leaders. Bitters didn't want to go, but the begging requests by his now boyfriend Palomo convinced him. He didn't want to upset Palomo in any way.

Bitters was a little concerned about the visit. What their old leaders would think finding out that Jensen, him, Palomo and Andersmith were now captains of teams. If they thought Bitters could handle it. Grif probably wouldn't care, Bitters was just a maveric to him. More importantly though, how they would react to him and Palomo now dating?

"Hey Bitters, are you okay?" Palomo questioned.

"Hmm, what. Yeah whatever"

"Are you sure?" Palomo asked, not so convinced.

"Yeah, i told you i'm fine" Bitters remarked. It came off ruder then intended so to make up for it he pulled Palomo in for a hug. Palomo hugged back smiling. "Just a little concerned but its okay"

"Antoinne, are you su-"

"Yes i'm sure" Bittes snapped. He hated it when Palomo used his first name. It was such a snobby name. Something you'd give to some fucking prince or some shit. Yet Bitters knew Palomo used it when he was being serious. "Lets just hurry up and go" Bitters informed.

He started to walk over where Doctor Grey was. Near the airship awaiting the rest. Palomo followed his boyfriend, still excited over the ship despite Bitters lack of enthusiasm. Everything was going to be fine...

...right?

 


	28. Chapter 27, How did it happen?

The airship had landed quietly, to try and not bring any attention to itself. Church had called again and asked them to be discreet so thats exactly what they were doing. When they all walked in they saw Church sitting near an unconcious Caboose. Next to him was a stranger the lietunents and doctor gray didn't recognise. She had informed them she was a relative of Caboose. They all kind of accepted it.

"You must feel rather honored to be cousins with Captain Caboose m'am" Smith stated. Church rolled his eyes. How the hell could anyone see Caboose as a genius? It made no sense to him... maybe Smith was just being a really convincing kissass, but Church doubted it.

"Aw, well ah am pretty happy hes my cous" Mackenzie remarked. "It was kinda hard not bein' able to see 'em though..." Mackenzie sighed. "Ah always was whale worried about him"

Smith nodded, taking it all in. "Where were you?" He asked.

Mackenzie smirked. "In the war against aliens, can't you tell by all these scars? Gotta tell ya, i was captain ah' my team and on the way to bein' a sargent. I plan on heading back in a couple weeks. Kick some alien ass" She told.

Smith smiled at her. "Well m'am, it looks like greatness runs in the family"

Mackenzie snorted, laughing a little. "Oh well aren't you nice"  She smiled brightly, extremely flattered. "But anyways, care to introduce me to the rest of your squad?"

Bitters glared. "His squad? Its not-"

"Sure thing miss!" Smith saluted. He turned to his friends. "This is Jensen, Bitters, Palomo and doctor Emily Gray" He informed.

Mackenzie shook hands with all of them. "Pleasure meet'n all of ya!" When she got to shaking Palomo and Bitters hands though she hesitated but quickly began smirking at them. "So, when did you two become a couple?" She asked. The two stayed silent. Bitters raised an eyebrow. _What the fuck... what in the actual fuck!?_ "Oh come on you two, i wanna know. Was it over a dinnerly dinner date?" They still stayed quiet."Was it in the middle of ah fight?"

"Mackenzie, they're not dating" Church intervened.

Jensen, Smith, Bitters and Palomo stared at eachother. Palomo gave an akward smile. "Well, actually..." Palomo began and soon it all tumbled out. That he and Bitters were officially now dating.

Churchs mouth starting to hang open halfway and stayed that way to Palomo finished. "Oh shit!" He groaned. Palomo and Bitters gave him a questionable glance. "Now i have to give Tucker one hundred bucks!" He slammed his head against the couch. "How about you guys just pretend you're not dating okay? I am not giving Tucker that much money. Actually... if you guys broke up just for a week or how long this takes i'd be fucking in a better mood. So, uh, get on that"

Bitters was about to say something but that was before Mackenzie punched Church further into the couch. He gave a muffled scream. "Sorry about Church, hes an absolute asshole. What he didn't mean to say but i'll say anyway was that hes happy for ya!" She told, her countryisms nearly all going away in that one sentence. Suddenly, her face went stern. She looked over at Doctor Grey. "So, Doctor bitch, are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna help my cous?"

Grey was a little startled by the sudden change of mood but disregarded it. She adjusted her glasses. "Of course m'am, i'll start work on the procedure right away!" And after that she went up to Caboose and began checking up on him. Church watched her intently. Bitters and Palomo began talking to eachother in the corner about if they'd still see their old captains considering the visit was meant to be secret. As for Mackenzie and Smith? They were hitting it off, which Church picked up on. Not like normal people, or regular friends. More like just an instant besties kind of ordeal, he was obviously complimenting her and Mackenzie seemed like the type to adore compliments. Jensen stared at the two from the somewhat isolated corner she was standing in, she looked... _jealous_?

Church walked over to her, taking his attention off of Caboose for the first time in a while. He sat next to her. "So, um, you dont seem to be happy?" He asked.

Jensen looked away. "Nothing captain. Its just..." Jensen paused. Church wanted to take her seriously, but the lisp she had got in the way. "I wish i had someone to love"

"Oh" Church gave a shy smile. "I didn't know Smith was dating anyone..."

"He isn't sir, but just look!" She pointed to Mackenzie and Smith. "They're basically hitting it off" Jensen informed. Church nodded, he could see how she would think that. Then again, Church had no idea about Mackenzies love life. He couldn't make guesses really... "Palomo used to like me sir..." She said, her voice broken. Church went wide-eyed. Well that came out of nowhere! He stared at her stunned. "He had a crush on me, and i liked him too, a bit. I think. Anyways, I was too late. I dont know what happened but he stopped loving me and started loving him" She sounded angry when she said that last word, looking over at Bitters.

Church shrugged. "Jeez, tough break" He sighed. "Why are you telling me this though? I hardly know you. Scratch that, i dont really like you"

"Because sir..." Jensen began. "Out of everyone you have the worst lovelife. I thought you could help by telling me all your bad experiences. Hanging out with you does make me feel better too, knowing someone has it worse off. Being absolutely horrible with women" She remarked, sobbing a little. Churchs jaw dropped. _That BITCH._

\---

Washs back had finally healed. As soon as Carolina gave him the okay to walk around again he stood up, cleaned around the room a bit and made his way over to his bunk. He was honestly a little surprised to see Tucker standing there with a couple sandwiches. "God dude, Carolina told you that you could move like ages ago. What the fuck took you so long?" He asked.

"I decided to clean the room a bit Tucker" Wash sighed. "So you guys wouldn't have to" He added, trying to put himself in the best possible light.

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Quite the gentlemen aren't you?" He said, trying to sound snobby. Wash groaned. "Anyways, i made you sandwiches. Are you hungry?" Tucker tilted his head to the side. Wash shook his head. "Liar" Tucker commented, handing him a sandwich anyway. "You've hardly eaten anything since you got up"

"Thats not true!" Wash retaliated.

"What have you eaten then?" Tucker shot back.

"U-ugh..." Wash stuttered, he tugged at his collar. "Grif gave me an Oreo bar, i think it was an oreo bar atleast" Wash said desperately. Tucker obviously wanted him to say more then that. "Listen, Tucker, i couldn't expect you to just go out of your way and make me food. I got in a little bites here and there and thats fine"

"No its not" Tucker stated. "You do realise you like broke your back or some shit right?" Tucker raised an eyebrow. Wash nodded, a tiny bit offended at the frustration in Tuckers voice. "If you break your back or whatever, and you cant move YOU CAN ASK FOR STUFF. Not just sit there and deal with shit" Tucker told. Wash stayed silent. "Now, hurry up and take this sandwich. If you dont eat it i'll force you to"

Wash groaned and picked up the sandwich, taking small bites. "Thanks" He mumbled.

"You're welcome, now you wanna go eat somewhere else?" Tucker questioned. Wash turned to face him, he looked confused. "Dont tell me you dont know why. This airship smells like pure vomit dude. Lets go to blue base. It may smell a little off but atleast its bearable" Tucker explained. Wash nodded and followed Tucker as they made their way off to blue base.

\---

"OH SHIT!!!" Simmons and Grif both shouted, falling backwards. "Ugh, what the fuck!" Grif moaned, getting off the ground and staring at the computer screen. The 'death' screen showing. "That sucked. Like seriously, what the actual hell!? Those little twerps were just opening the door what were we supposed to do?" He turned to Simmons.

Simmons rolled his eyes. "I told you to grab the door and hold it! Then we would have survived!!!" He informed.

"Or we do as i originally said and dont listen to the creepy ghost girl shit. Climb under here blah blah blah" Grif mocked. "You'll be safe in there Grif, absolutely fine. Well guess what Simmons? We weren't fine, we died. On like the second night. Fucking shit" Grif grumbled. "Its what i get for playing nerd games with you..."

"Sister Location is not a nerd game" Simmons stated. "Tons of people play it. Markiplier played it and hes not a nerd" Simmons informed.

"Markiplier? Are you drunk, Simmons" Grif asked. "That sounds like the dumbest name i've ever heard" Simmons was about to say how thats not his actual name but Grif kept going. "You know what fuck this" Grif turned off the computer and collapsed on his bed. "I'm done"

"Ugh, youre so lazy" Simmons groaned. It was funny. Grif had gotten skinnier. He was like, normal size now. Yet, on the outside it had seemed like nothing had changed in Grifs schedule. Eat, sleep, eat, sleep, eat, sleep. That was the to-do list, always on repeat. Simmons sat on his bed and picked a magazine out of the pile. He tried cleaning it up, but it always ended up messy later. He'd still try to clean up sometimes, just not as much. The magazine he picked out was GameNerd Weekly. Yeah, it didn't help his cause when defending that hes not a nerd and he reads this magazine... did they just name it that to annoy Simmons?

Whatever, it hardly mattered. All that mattered was it was Sleep in Grifs schedule. That would mean waiting half an hour or so to talk to him again, which honestly? Was a sacrifice of time Simmons was willing to skip to talk to him again...

\---

As Tucker and Wash opened blue bases door, they saw the lietunents, Emily Grey, Church and Mackenzie. Oh! And an unconcious Caboose. "What. The. Fuck?" Tuckers jaw hung open.

Church looked up. He smiled akwardly. "I thought you wouldn't be back yet..." He admitted. "Hey Wash, feeling better i presume?" Church asked.

"Um, yeah... whys Caboose unconcious?" Wash questioned.

"Dunno, trying to figure that out" Church replied honestly.

Wash nodded. Tucker would honestly have had more to say if it weren't for the fact that he soon felt hands wrap around his waist and knock him over. "Augh, shit!" He exclaimed.

It was Palomo.

Palomo got off of Tucker and smiled brightly. "Captain Tucker!" He announced. "I haven't seen you in so long. Guess, what? I'm the captain of a team now! Oh, and so is Bitters" Palomo bragged. Bitters gave a small wave. Tucker liked Palomo. He was like the little brother Tucker never had. He was protective of him, never wanted him to turn out like himself. Not get in with some bad people. "Oh, and Captain Tucker!" Palomo snapped Tucker out of his thoughts. He had his usual big goofy grin on him. "Me and Bitters are dating!"

"Aw, sweet dude!" He gave Palomo a noogie. Bitters tried to look not the littlest bit embarassed. Tucker looked over at Church. "One hundred bucks, now"

Church sighed. "Fine"

He handed Tucker the money. "Thank you" Tucker smirked, giving a look to Church that made him want to punch him. He laughed.

"Attention people in this room!" All turned. It was doctor Grey. "I have made an.... _unfortunate_ discovery. The gun that was used to shoot Caboose is one of a kind according to this bullet. Only one of them was ever made and it was given to only one person"

"Who?" Church asked intently.

"Felix" She answered, worryfull.

"WHAT!!!" Everyone screamed. That couldn't be right? Was it Felix? Nah. Yah? Either eay everyone was in a panic. Felix was scary. If he was around, god help them all. After all, if he shot Caboose, intent probably on killing him they would probably try to kill all of them. They didn't want to die. Wait, maybe Felix had forgiven them? No. Definitely not. Church gulped.

What the fuck was in store for them?

 


	29. Chapter 29

Felix was back?

The words hit all of the soldiers like knives. I mean, sure. Some of them figured that it could have just been someone finding and using Felixs gun but not all of them came to that conclusion. Some of them were downright panicking, and rightfully so. Tucker was the most shocked. He'd seen him die. Well, he'd seen him fall... BUT THAT HAD TO HAVE KILLED HIM! He would have instantly died as soon as he hit the ground. Maybe he didn't hit the ground? No. Tucker shot back at his own thoughts. He had to have hit the ground. The sword lit up signifying he was dead. There was no way! 

Tucker didn't concentrate on much after the news struck him. His mind was racing and his vision blurry. Wash had tried talking to him but Tucker couldn't answer. He was full on out of it. He picked up on some things though, like  Palomo leaving and Bitters trying to stop him... Palomo still left leaving an upset Bitters. He also noticed Mackenzie and Smith discussing things. He didn't know how it came however, to him alone in a room with Bitters. The soldier looked angry at himself.

Noticing Tucker was still in the room he frowned and began making his way out. Tucker trying his best to do small talk spoke up. "So dude, uh, hey..." Tucker began, thinking of what to say. Wait a minute! Tucker smiled. Got it. "How did you and Palomo hook up?"

"The exact same reason i'm leaving to go find him now" Bitters sharply answered. Tucker sighed, that didn't help him spark conversation in the slightest. Bitters obviously realised that Tucker was disapointed at the reply. "Listen, du- Tucker. I don't really like you persay, and i only tell things like that to people i like" Bitters told. Tucker glared. "Hey, thats just how i roll" He concluded, beginning to walk off again.

Tucker rolled his eyes. He quickly came to a realisation. "Wait... why the fuck do you hate me? I never did anything to you. Did i?" Tucker tilted his head to the side.

"Well, not to me" Bitters hinted.

Tucker went wide-eyed. He's talking about Palomo isn't he? Tucker sighed. "You're talking about Palomo, aren't you?" Tucker asked.

"Who else would i be talking about?" Bitters said, as though Tucker was a moron for asking. "You killed off the rest of his team and ever since then hes had major issues regarding his new team" Bitters informed. "Feeling as though we'll all die sometime too. I mean, he still has high hopes for us. Sometimes. But other then that hes a wreck when it comes to teamwork and whose fault was that?" Silence reigned.

Tucker avoided eye-contact. He still regretted that day. As much as people said he was forgiven there was always that one asshole who brought it up still feeling anger over Tuckers decision. In this case, that asshole was Bitters. "I know Bitters. It was my fau-"

"Ding ding ding, correct!" Bitters mocked. "Now, fuck off" He walked out the room and this time Tucker didn't even try to stop him. He was too pissed off. Besides, Tucker was too worried about Felix. He couldn't be back, could he? And if he was judging by the large bullet he shot at Caboose he certainly didn't feel bad over his past actions. He just wants revenge, thats all. You know what? Maybe not. Tucker gave a weak smile. Maybe he was just shocked by Caboose or something and shot out of self defense. Felix probably did feel bad.

And he definitely didn't want to kill them all!

\---

"I AM SO GONNA FUCKING KILL THEM ALL!!!" Felix said, stabbing his knife into the wall. He looked at his comrade. A female ex-freelancer who recently turned into a bounty hunter. She glared at him, as if Felix was a phsycotic. "Oh don't give me that fucking look! You'd want to kill them all too if you were me!"

" _If i were you i would have probably killed myself_ " She mumbled. She began lifting up one side of a box. "Hey, can you help me move this?"

Felix not acknoledging her pulled his knife out of the wall. "They are gonna fear the day they pushed me off the communications tower!" He announced. "You know what? They are going to fear every fucking day of their lives i was in by the time im through. Once i stab them like, several times they will feel how i felt that shitty day"

"You act as if killing them will be easy" She commented. "Didn't these soldiers defeat the Meta? Didn't they defeat you? Didn't they defeat Locus? You're getting cocky. Anyways, can you help me with this fucking bo-"

"THEY DIDN'T DEFEAT LOCUS" Felix spat. "Locus betrayed me the cunt. To think i..." Felix trailed off.

The ex-freelancer cocked an eyebrow, she quickly lowered it though. "Whatever, can you help me with this heavy ass box alre-"

"You know what it doesn't matter? After we're done here i'll find him and stab him in the chest just like i will these guys" Felix stated, putting his knife back in his armors pocket. "Its only a matter of time!" He growled.

"Riigghhttt..." She rolled her eyes. "Listen, Felix. Though i quote on quote love hearing about you're revenge plots thats not why we're here. We're here to collect our accomplice incase anything happens to the get-away ship and then get the hell out of here" She reminded. Felix crossed his arms. "Hey, don't pout. They're letting you kill them off if you want too, so if anything be thankful. Most commands would not let you do that, but these guys are because they know what these soldiers put you through, so get rid of youre fucking frown and HELP ME WITH THIS HEAVY ASS BOX I'VE BEEN ASKING YOU TO LIFT UP WITH ME FOR THE LAST FIVE MINUTES!!!!" She instructed, annoyed at Felix.

Felix sighed and walked over lifting up the other side of the box. "There you go. You happy now?"

"Yes" She replied smirking. "If you didn't help me and kept not listening to me it wouldn't have just been your friends with knives in their chests. So, be happy. You just saved your life"

Now Felix wasn't scared of a lot of things, but the ex-freelancer spoke those words in a tone that was both sadistic and full of pleasure. It was an unsettling combination. It was always her intention to intimidate those around her though most of the time she just scared them. Whether she liked that better Felix didn't know. "You know something?"

"Yeah" She grunted, starting to move the box over to the left of the room.

"You are fucking scary Delaware" He told.

"Guilty as charged asshole" She laughed a bit. "Now hurry up and start moving this thing with me. I didn't ask you to hold one side of the box and just stand there for all fucked up eternity did i?"

\---

Bitters couldn't find Palomo. He knew what Palomo was doing, and for that reason alone Palomo would try to find a good hiding spot. Bitters regretted not following Palomo out before. He didn't know why he hesitated but he just did. God, he could be such an idiot sometimes. "Bitters?"

Bitters looked up to see Grif. "Hey sir" Bitters said, trying to walk around him but quickly Grif had other plans.

"Hey, not so fast" Grif grabbed Bitters and pulled him back infront of him. "What the fuck are you doing here?" Bitters stayed silent and tried walking away again. "Okay, you can't expect me not to stop you"

"Listen, i just need to find him" Bitters told.

"Find who?" Grif asked.

Bitters never meant to be apart of a full conversation after that. It just, kinda happened. He knew he had to find Palomo but that thought drifted away from his thoughts as he talked to his previous commanding officer. He would need to find him later. Hopefully Palomo would be fine until then.

\---

_I'm gonna die, aren't i?_

"Palomo, are you doing alright?"

_Oh no, We're all gonna die._

"Palomo, are you crying?"

_We can't find a way out of this._

"Palomo!? Listen to me!"

_Maybe i could've done... no, Bitters says-ugh! nevermind what he says, hes just trying to cheer me up..._

"Palomo, please respond to me!!!"

_It IS all my fau-_

"PALOMO!" Smith yelled, finally snapping.

Palomo looked up. He wiped away his tears and tried to give a smile. "Oh, uh, hey Smith... watch any good movies or something?" It was dumb, but it was the only thing Palomo could think of to say. Smith sighed and sat near Palomo. It was at this moment Palomo realised Smith saw he was upset. "U-ugh... Smith, i'm fine. Really"

"Wheres Bitters?" Smith asked.

"Oh. He tried to stop me from coming out alone" Palomo informed. "He wanted to come with me atleast"

"And you didn't let him?" Smith tilted his head to the side. Palomo nodded, but it was clear he regretted not letting Bitters come. All he wanted was to make sure Palomo wasn't upset. Simple and good intentions. Smith rested a hand on his chin taking all the information in. "Well, i think you should go and tell him you're alright, he's probably worried about you" Smith suggested.

"Yeah" Palomo agreed, getting up. Smith could tell Palomo was still tense about the situation though. Who wouldn't be? Felix was back. Three words no one wanted to hear. The only person who wasn't shocked was Mackenzie, but why would she be? She had no clue who Felix was or how much of a threat he could be. Though, she was plenty cautious when Smith explained it to her. Smith liked talking to her. She was... interesting. Nice. Made him feel good whenever he was around her. Jensen didn't like her. Smith didn't know why. Soon however, Smiths thoughts snapped back to the matter at hand. Re-assuring Palomo.

"Listen, i know you're worried. We all are" Smith spoke up. Palomo turned to face him. "But if we stand up tall and stay confident we can end this fine. Besides, it could have been someone using Felixs gun. We shouldn't rule out things based on our insecurities" Smith informed. Palomo relaxed a little. Only a little. "Are you feeling better now?" Smith questioned.

"Yeah, thanks Smith" Palomo gave a weak smile and walked off.

Smith stayed where he was. He felt pretty happy with himself. He always saw Palomo as a little brother. Treated him that way too. Sometimes that approach worked well, whilst other times not so well. One of those bad times being the time he caught Palomo and Bitters kissing in the shower and gave them the safety talk. Bitters still complains to him about that day. Rightfully so.

"I was look'n for ya hun!"

Smith lifted his head up and saw Mackenzie standing infront of him. "Oh, um hey Ms" Smith smiled brightly. Mackenzie presented herself in a way that made herself not only strong but kind. She was clearly a relative of Caboose for that reason alone. Caboose was always kind, giving his troop cookies and orange juice. He also did push ups and was the strongest. He could lift up way more then his friends thats for sure. Many people say Tucker was the best soldier, the most promising one of the captains but Smith always looked to Caboose for that. Caboose never hid how he felt, which always took real guts... "Why were you looking for me M'am?" Smith asked.

"Well, everyones a little narwhal nervous" Mackenzie told. "Even me" She mumbled. "He shot my cous and gave no medical attention. Hes out for blood. I can tell" Mackenzie informed. "So, i want to go find him. If hes somewhere in this canyon i am going to get him! But i'm not going alone..." She offered a hand. "I need help. Church will think i'm crazy, the doctor will judge and everyone else gumball god knows who they'll act. Can you help me?"

Smith thought for a moment. Mackenzie was a caring soul and cared for her family and friends. Caboose she obviously loved the most. Smith couldn't deny. He understood where she was coming from. Smith once had a sister, but hell knows where she went. Smith would give anything to go back and find out. So?

He took her hand.

 


	30. Chapter 29, Past Upcomings

"Hmm, where am i?"

Delta opened his eyes. Well, he opened his metaphorical eyes anyway. He gazed around the room. It was dark, quiet and gave him an uneasy feeling inside. A single door before him. The last thing he remembered was being with Caboose before he got... Delta shivered. Though he gave off the persona of a gentlemen, he was really quite the jerk. Delta acknowledged this, but it only made himself feel guilty. He once again, looked around at his surroundings. There had to be something. Someone. It couldn't just be-

"You know for the logical one you really had a stupid plan..."

Delta turned. The door was now open and out of it walked Felix and someone from the Project Delta instantly recognised. Delaware. Delta never really communicated with her, but he knew she and York weren't on good terms. She was an exe. Apparently York left her because she was a brat. Cared more about herself then others. Then again, that was a pretty byist opinion. The only time Delta had really talked with her was when York needed to leave Delta behind so he could get a check up after a lengthy battle. She was in the waiting room. She didn't like Delta, or anything related to York of any matter. If was quite obvious for anyone who knew her their breakup had been rough.

"Not talking huh?" Felix commented.

Delta shrugged. "I am... just taking this all in" Delta offered the best reply he could think of.

Felix accepted the reply but Delaware didn't. She rolled her eyes. " _Thats Yorks A.I. alright_ " She mumbled. "All other things and no concentration on whats happening. Typical" She scoffed.

"Well, you definitely have a grudge" Felix said, trying to shush her. Realising this she growled and looked away.

Delta tilted his head. Had she never told him about York? If she did, wouldn't it have been obvious to Felix what she was so frustrated at. "Her grudge may be associated with the fact that she and York used to be-"

"Can it" Delaware interrupted. Felix was obviously suspicious so she tried to wary his thoughts. "Felix, aren't you going to interrogate him?" She asked. "The little runt has information and can help us run suits. Get on with it already!" She instructed.

Felix nodded, a tad annoyed. He looked back again at Delta. "Okay, so how good are you at running suits?" He asked. Delta stayed silent, not wishing to give away such information. "Hmm, not talking 'eh?" Felix said, cracking his knuckles. He looked at Delaware once more. "Looks like hes more like you then he is York Delaware..." He teased.

"Oh shut up" She hissed. Delaware got up and began making her way to Delta. She pushed Felix to the side. "You are horrible at getting information from people" She stated. Felix was about to deny but she glared at him. "Dont start with me Felix, you can only get people to talk if you have a gun. That wont work with Delta, so you're useless" She informed harshly. Felix groaned. "But... if there is one thing you clearly get someones life is always the most valuable thing to bargain with..." Delaware somewhat complimented.

"Thank you, i guess" Felix mumbled. "Stupid bi-"

"ANYWAYS" She hightened her voice. "Delta, if you don't give us what we need, we'll delete you. We have the natural resources to be able to" Delaware smirked. "I have pretty close tie ins with project freelancer, but you'd know that already. Oh! And as for this cunt?" She motioned to Felix. "A certain army thinks hes still working with Locus, so they'll give him anything he needs to complete our mission" She told. "Keep making 'em think that hes still mushy with his boyfriend is more useful then one would think..."

"Boyfriend!?" Felix snapped, sweating slightly at the unexpected accusation.

"So, as i just said" Delaware began, ignoring Felixs question. "I reccomend you start talking..."

\---

Mackenzie and Smith came to the place Church said he originally found Caboose. Just outside a cave. They had decided to go at night, on the small hope no one would wake up and realise they were gone. Judging by what had happenedm the hope was faint. Everyone was sleeping in shifts. Bitters told Palomo to go to sleep and he'd wake him up when it was his turn but Smith knew Bitters wouldn't. He'd let Palomo sleep, despite how exhausted it would make him. Bitters could be surprisngly thoughtful sometimes.

"Ah' think i found something" Mackenzie announced, kneeling down. "Footprints" She told. "Interesting as igloos on sea breeze fire"

"Didn't Church say the footprints are what lead himself to Caboose m'am?" Smith questioned. "So... in other words, i hate to doubt your amazing leadership, but there Cabooses right?"

"It would seem, yet..." Mackenzie got up and looked where the footprints went up too. "They go farther then where Caboose got shot, so most likely there from soupity someone else!"

"Good find m'am!" Smith saluted.

"Awww, you're such a gentlemen" Mackenzie smiled, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder. Her face blushing heavilly. "Now" She readied her gun. "Lets follow those flippity footprints!"

"Right m'am" Smith agreed following her every move. As much as Smith would hate to say it, he was sort of liking her better then Caboose. He didn't know whether to be mad at himself or not for that, but it was just his honest opinon and nothing could fault him for that.

\---

_Nebraska sighed as he watched the snow fall lightly on the icy plains. It was quiet. "N, what the fuck are you doing? We need to get out of here. This place isn't safe..." Nebraska gave a weak, fake even, smile. It was her._

_"R-right" Nebraska turned. His movements subtly hinting at fear and sadness. She picked up on it._

_She gave him her best re-assuring glance. "C'mon, i know you never wanted this but its okay. If you want peace, we'll get it" She readied her shotgun. "Just need to get past a couple obstacles" Nebraska stayed silent. She laid a hand on his shoulder. "Jay..." And with that Nebraska took off his helmet. She kissed him gently. The kiss was short lived but still magical. Nebraska gave a small chuckle, blushing heavilly. "We'll get out of this..." She began, confidence in her voice. "Just need to follow orders, and we'll be fine"_

_If only she had been right._

"Jay, what are you doing?"

Jay snapped out of his thoughts and looked up to see Mike. The icy plains he once had seen soon evaporated into the grassy canyon they had been dropped off at. Oh... Jay felt his head, a headache slowly forming. Another memory flash. He got them often. Ever since the project it was common for him to snap back to the past. He hated it. I mean, he liked the memories. Sometimes. It was just... seeing good things only knowing how crap they turned out, kinda depressing. Oh. And how good they could have been if different choices were made.

Atleast he hadn't gone back to a memory he looked at in a negative way, and trust me he had plenty like that. Realising Mike was still awaiting a reply Jay gave a seemingly calm and collective laugh before staring at his friend. "Just in my own world again..."

"Memory flash, huh?" Mike tilted his head to the side. Jay nodded. "God, how often do they happen now? Like five times a day?" He said, shaking his head in utter disbelief. He sat down, Jay soon doing the same. "Welp, you came out of it alive so may aswell pay the price for it" Mike smiled, trying to brighten up Jays mood. It didn't really work. "Ugh, this canyon sucks" Mike remarked. "Blood gulch? Like seriously, who calls a place that? Basically screams 'dont come here, you'll die'" He said, laughing a bit at his own joke.

"Isn't our canyon called Blood valley?" Jay smirked.

"Yeah but, oh fuck it. Both suck" Mike groaned. "They're all boiling hot and full of complete idiots"

"Full of 'em?" Jay questioned. "Doesn't that include you?"

"Oh shut up Jay" Mike growled. "That means you too. Don't try just pin-pointing idiocy on me. I'm the smart one and always will be. You came late to the game to recieve that title" Mike told, hissing with a somewhat kind feel to it. Was that even possible? Jay had no clue. "Hmm, guess you did deserve to survive Freelancer though..."

"Huh?" Jay raised an eyebrow.

"You dont seem like the guy commonly associated with those projects. How much badshit crap things did you do in the project? Bet ya none" Mike stated. "Right?"

Jay flinched.

_"NEBRASKA! YOU FUCKTARD! DONT YOU DARE KILL ME FOR THIS!"_

_"Jay, what are you doing? Stop! U-ugh..."_

_"NEBRASKA, COME BACK HERE!"_

"Y-yeah" Jay stuttered. He did deserve to survive through it all...

...right?


	31. Chapter 30, Waking Up

Smith smiled at Mackenzie as they followed the footprints.  So m'am..." Smith began. "What are you going to do once you find Felix, or whoever shot Caboose?" Smith asked.

Mackenzie stayed silent. Thinking. "I really dont know. Probably king-style kill 'em. No one hurts my cous, no exceptions" Mackenzie said, voice stern. Wow. Smith thought. She really cares about Caboose. "Then again he's family. What else would i do? You know how much family means to a pumpernickel person" She stated. Smith nodded. "Do you have anyone in your family particularly close to you..?" She questioned.

"Yes m'am" Smith replied. "A sister"

"Whats her name?" Mackenzie tilted her head to the side.

"Carla" Smith told. "She was a free spirit. An activist. Always wanting to do the right thing. God, i do wish i know where she was now. Something happened, i dont know. She ran away. I have no idea where she is now" Smith said, it all falling out.

"That must of hurt you" Mackenzie remarked. Smith nodded. "Well, if it makes you feel better i know what its like for someone close to disapear..." She sighed, memories pouring into her mind. "You see, i have a boyfriend..." She told. Smith was a little disapointed by that. Why? He didn't know. "He was in that freelancer floof or whatever thingamajig. He wrote me every week" Mackenzie stated. "Until one week, he stopped writing. No reason, just all of a sudden nothing. I think something happened to him"

"Oh" Smith said, a little relieved. _Wait_! Smith went wide-eyed. _How can i be so disrespectful? She has lost a loved one and i'm relieved. How bad of a lietunent am i?_ Smith scratched the back of his neck, feeling guilty. "I hope he writes you back sometime"

"I hope so too..." Mackenzie told, reloading her shotgun. "Now, are you ready to kill one cousin shooting bastard or what?" Smith nodded. "Alright then, lets go"

\---

Doctor Grey had very limited medical training, so being pressured to do something a little outside her skill set did set her off to be a bit unbalanced. Especially because of Church. "How much have you done?" And "Can you hurry the fuck up, he could be dying over here" seem to come around every second. She always replied with a small threat covered up by a nice tone or just simply shushing him, but he'd always come to say it once more. All he needed was a couple minutes to pass before hes off at it again.

They had chosen to go in a seperate room with Caboose, with the fear that the lietunents and company might interrupt. Doctor Grey regrettably let Church come in with her. It was strange. Whenever Grey would ask him questions relating to Chorus or something like that he'd be very vague. It was as if he was telling something he had been told. Like he'd been read a story and was now trying his best to recite it. It was rather suspicious.

"C-church..?"

The voice was faint but still made Church give a sigh if relief. Grey too. Not for the same reason however... her reason was more due to Church not having a reason to keep on whining. "Buddy, you okay?" He asked, his voice soft. Yup, he definitely cared. Not a hint of sarcasm in the slightest.

"I... i think so. Whys the scary doctor lady here?" Caboose asked. Grey flinched at the insult, even despite it being clearly not meant to assault.

"She's helping you... you were knocked unconcious. Can you tell us what happened?" Church questioned.

Caboose tried his best to nod, trying to disregard the pain it gave him to perfom such a movement. "Well, i was with the little green guy and he said he needed me too..." Caboose trailed off. "I dont remember. Um, there was Felix! He shot me... that was not fun" Caboose told.

Church took it all in. So did Grey, though she tried to hide that fact. "Well Michael, you wounds are healing much more then i anticipated. Looks like less body scans... regardless, you'll be on you're feet again in less then a week. In the meantime, Church? Do you wanna look after him?" Grey asked.

"Sure" Church agreed.

Grey smiled. She could have atleast expected some hesitation. Looks like Church really cared about him... maybe even more then he knew himself. Heh. Grey pondered the thought for a minute. Was it... love? Nah. Maybe? Probably not. Whatever it was, it was definitely sweet!

\---

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?" Grif screeched, pointing at the show they were watching on Simmons laptop.

"What is it?" Simmons asked.

"How the fuck- did she just die?" Grif questioned. Simmons nodded making his comrade pull him in closer by his shirt collar. "Why the fuck did that bitch die? She was like a good fighter and all that shit. I swear, all the shows you show me make no sense. Atleast its not as bad as Gravity Falls"

"Hey! Gravity Falls is awesome. The codes, the mysteries and all the twists. Its fucking clever. Also, she lost the fight because Cinder was stronger. May i remind you that SHE HAS THE FALL MAIDENS POWERS!" Simmons argued. Grif rolled his eyes. "Besides, if Cinder was able to defeat the headmaster then she stands no chance against Cinder. Its obvious"

"One, Gravity Falls is a cartoon. It should just be fun. Not all this sherlock holmes or whatever shit. Second, Ozpin was a wimp. He owns a school. He could do anything and instead hes like 'i'm gonna face the bitch alone!' And all that. Also, none of this would've happened if he hadn't let them into the school..." Grif told.

Simmons took the critisism in. "I'm sure he had his reasons..."

"Yeah, dumb reasons" Grif stated.

"Why you!" Simmons clenched his fists annoyed.

\---

_"RWBY is one of the best shows on the web. You just have bad taste!" Simmons told._

_"What! No i dont. I watch a lot of cool shows. Sides, if RWBY is so great why isn't it spelt correctly?"_

_"Because its an anagram. R. Ruby. W. Weiss. B. Blake and Y. Yang" Simmons informed._

_"Oh so i can mispell radius and everythings to hell, but if they mispell that its fine?"_

_"Its not the same thing Grif! Did you not hear what i just said!?"_

_"Eh' i wasn't really listening"_

_"Grif!"_

"These guys are pathetic. I can understand why you want to kill them" Delaware whispered to Felix, listening to the two bicker. "They're like children"

"Children are probably more competent" Felix stated.

"Thanks for making the right choice Delta" Delaware said, her somewhat mocking voice becoming stone cold and emotionless. "Listening to their conversations through their helmets is quite useful..."

Delta looked away, feeling ashamed. "I do wish that you do not compliment me on backstabbing..."

"I can compliment you on whatever the fuck i want" Delaware spat. Delta sighed. Perhaps getting himself erased was the better thing to do, but it wasn't the most logical. Logic dictates he will be useful to someone on his side quite soon... whatever that may be....

 


	32. Chapter 31, Knock-Out Moments

"Church, why can't I move?" Cabooses voice was quiet. Church hesitated to answer. "I got hit in the shoulder, didn't I? Or the chest..? How are my legs the problem?" Caboose asked, tilting his head to the side. "Why can't I get up?" It was a surprisingly good question, well... at least to Church it was.

He shrugged. "It doesn't matter where the fuck it hit you Caboose. The armour stopped the bullet. It was the FALL that effected you" Church informed.

Caboose wasn't too pleased by that answer but he still put on a smile. Suddenly, he clapped his hands together. Remembering that Church usually didn't like it when he shared too much optimism he masked his beaming smile with a look that could somewhat be seen as content. He clasped his hands together. "Hey Church?"

"Yeah Caboose?" Church said, turning to face his friend.

"I have a secret!" Caboose announced. "...and you cant tell anyone since you're my best friend" He added.

Church rolled his eyes and sat next to Caboose. "What is it buddy?" He questioned.

Caboose grabbed Church and pulled him closer. He leant to whisper in his ear. "Tucker likes Wash" He pushed Church away grinning. He expected Church to be surprised but instead he was merely giving off a look of confusion. "You know!" Caboose beamed. "Like like"

Church still wasn't getting it. "Caboose-"

"Church..." Caboose frowned. "Why do you have to not get things sometimes?" He groaned. "Geez... sometimes you can be so dumb" He laughed. Church giggled at the remark too. "I mean LOVE. Tucker loves Wash, its that simple. He has a crush on Agent Washingtub" Church stayed silent. "Thats the secret" Caboose said, feeling as though he needed to clear that part up.

"Um... buddy, i dont know about that" Church replied honestly. "I mean, god, isn't Tucker straight?"

"Yes" Caboose sharply answered.

"So how can he like Wash?" Church asked.

Caboose stayed silent as he was thinking. He put a hand to his chin. He was truly contemplating this. "I don't know what you mean. If Tuckers straight, whats so wrong with liking Wash?"

"Because Caboose, that would make him gay..." Church told.

"No. That would make him straight with a crush on a guy" Caboose informed, giving off the impression he thought what he said was obvious to a person. "Come on Church! Its easy"

"Caboose, that makes no sense" Church said, losing his patience. "If Tuckers straight then he can't like Wash. Well, unless hes bi-sexual. Oh god, is he?" Church was really putting all his thought into this. "He did care the most when Wash got hurt and did offer for him to stay when we got here but... do you really think? I mean... and how he wanted to stay in the airship. WITH WASH. Red base WAS more spacious after all. Holy shit! It all makes sense. How could i have been so fucking blind this whole time?"

"Church..?" Caboose tried to get Church to stop talking but he ignored him.

"I mean, its obvious to anyone with half a brain! Maybe not Wash... god, i can't believe this" Church stated honestly. He was shocked. How could he have missed all this? "God... Tucker loves Wash!"

Caboose stared silently. "Um... Church? Maybe you should stop talking about this..."

"Caboose, i'm allowed to be fucking surprised" Church retaliated. "Wouldn't anyone be after a huge fucking revelation like that? Its obvious. TUCKER LOVES WASH" Silence entered the room. Even Caboose was quiet. "Caboose?" Church raised an eyebrow.

"Um... Church..." Caboose pointed to behind him. Church turned.

There, he saw Washington. His face was glowing bright red. He was clutching a small teddy bear. It was one Church had seen before. It was Cabooses, nicknamed 'fuzzy wuzzy' the bear was Cabooses childhood toy. He had lost it after they left to their new bases. Wash had probably found it. Somehow. And was coming over to give it back to him. Not that it mattered now, all Wash was now was a stuttering embarassed dork. Akward silence now infiltrating the room because of it. Caboose broke ths silence as usual.

"Psst! Church!" Caboose whispered but anyone with ears would definitely hear him despite his attempted silence. "I think Washingtub heard the secret!"

"Yeah..." Church bit his lip. "I think so too buddy"

\---

"I don't get why the fuck we still have to do nightshift duty..." Grif sighed. "We're no longer soldiers! Well, technically we still are BUT WE HAVE NO CAUSE. The blues aren't fighting us anymore. Either way the point is the same. WE. SHOULD. BE. ON. BREAK" Grif stated. "What do you think Simmons?" He turned, expecting to see his maroon comrade standing there but instead he was greeted with a different soldier. One wearing pink armor. At first Grif figured it was Donut but he was quickly proven wrong. The armor had light pink highlights aswell and had a mark on it. What was the mark? Like a rose or something. Grif didn't really care... "Who the fuck are you?"

"Hmm? Oh, are you finally finished with your rant?" The voice was female. "Its Zachary, from the ship and all that shit. Sarge sent that maroon guy over to blue base for some reason... by the time i got up here and you heard me coming you just presumed i was your boyfriend" Grif was about to interject but she continued speaking. "I was going to interrupt but i prefer hearing how 'fucked up' you claim your life is" The womans helmet was off. She had dark red hair, so short you could mistake her for a boy. Her face was a little red and she was barely standing. Thinking back on it, Grif thought it was obvious that she had been drinking, but he didn't catch it the first time.

"Thanks..." Grif said, his sarcastic tone clearly pitching in. "Bitch" He mumbled.

"Hey, i heard that ass-face" Zachary commented. "You should just be happy i offered to do this and not one of my teammates. If you got Diancie, you'd get a whiny third-person speaking bitch that doesn't listen... if you'd get Cross you'd hear TONS of complaining about Leo. Oh? And if you got Leo? Vice versa" She told.

"Huh..." Grif looked up at the stars surrounding them. "Didn't take you for someone who complains a lot..."

"I just don't wanna be here, thats why" She admitted. Silence reigned. "Its hard being the brains of the group. No one ever fucking listens to you! Probably why project Freelancer sent us to these lonely canyons in the middle of nowhere. To send us insane!" Zachary stated.

Grif nodded. "True that"

"True that huh?" Zachary scoffed. Grif turned to face her. "Are you symphasising with me?" Grif nodded again, sweating a little. "At what point in this conversation did i let it be known that i thought you were the brains of you're little group? Guess what, i dont think that. More than that actually... i know that isn't the case. Never took you for the selfish pig" She chuckled. "Guess we all mistake people with a first look"

Grif SO wanted to punch her then. He was full on using all of his strength to resist going forward with the action.

"None of you are the brains" She announced.

Grif flinched. "What about Simmons?"

"Ha!" Zachary smiled. "That guys too insecure to be the brains. I'd say Pinkie or whatever his name is, is actually closer then that nerd" She giggled a little. "What do you think? How dumb do you think your boyfriend is? I'm thinking somewhere lower then... zero. Then again, i'm here for you're opinion. So, what'll it be..?" She asked, leaning closer to Grif. "Bitch"

*PUNCH*

"Ow! What the fuck! Douchebag.... holy shit" Zachary covered her left eye where the hit had been placed. It wasn't bleeding, thank god, but still looked bad. She got up from it like it was nothing and stomped back into the base. Grif watched from afar, glaring at her.

"God, what a fucking bitch" He said to himself, grabbing a cigarette from his pocket. He felt no remorse towards her whatsoever. A little, maybe. Not a whole lot thats for sure. He knew he'd get in trouble for that. Mainly from Simmons. 'Its against protocol!' And all that. An average person would go tell Simmons she was mocking him but Grif wasn't you're average person. So? For whatever reason he decided to keep quiet. After all...

...it give him the chance to listen to the nerd talk for a couple hours more then usual.


	33. Chapter 32, Mechanical Issues

Simmons robotic arm was a real pain in the ass sometimes. On some occasions, it would just turn off. Other times, spaz the fuck out. I mean, he was thankful for it. It was pretty high tech but still, when you're at a nice dinner conversation with guests? It just feels wrong when you're sitting there using a screwdriver and a box of tools trying to fix you're said 'sometimes an ass' robot arm? Like I said, a real pain in the ass. 

"Aww, I can't believe you guys have to go so soon!!!" Donut said sadly, his outburst bringing Simmons attention back to the conversation that had been taking place on the table.

"Yes, I do suppose it is a great shame. Diancie knows how privelaged you must have been for her visit" Diancie smirked.

Zachary rolled her eyes and dug her face into her arms. She groaned. "Honestly, I'm just tired and happy to go back" Zachary replied honestly. "I got really drunk last night and now I have a fucking black eye" She told, her eye still hurting. "I bet it was Mackenzie. She has a strong arm" 

Cross smiled and laughed. "No wonder, that is..."

"...to be expected you got punched" Leo finished, taking a sip of his apple juice. "You ARE really mean when you get drunk" 

"What do you mean?" She raised an eyebrow.

Cross and Leo looked at eachother nervously. "Well..."

\---

You guys are fucking worthless piece of shits! Seriously, worthless. Complain, complain, complain. Its all you ever do. I AM LITERALLY ON THE VERGE OF STABBING YOU COUNTLESS TIMES AND THATS NOT A JOKE!!!

\---

"Lets just say experience" Cross concluded, giving off a weak smile.

"Anyways, it'll still be sad not having you guys around" Donut told. "Right Lopez?" Donut turned to his robot companion.

[Its funny. I had only known them for such a short time, yet still... I hate them as much as everyone else in this fucking canyon] Lopez looked up expecting to see Donuts dumb goofy grin but instead he was frowning. 

"You hate me?" He half-whispered. The table went silent. Lopez flinched.

"U-ugh... SO ZACHARY, are you really gonna get a degree, or some shit like that?" Simmons said, doing his best to recite the only thing he heard during his mechanical arm fix-up. It was obvious he was just trying to divert the discussion away from Donut but that didn't stop Zachary on not answering him. 

"Maybe" She told. "It will help me prove to Command i'm worthy of leaving our stink'n canyon SOOOO, yeah probably. I don't know what i'm gonna get it for though... doctors degree perhaps? Engineer?" She listed off a number of countless degrees. "It really depends on what mood i'm in"

"Diancie suggests you get the doctor one" Diancie suggested. "That way when Cross and Leo break their legs, like they always do atleast once a month, it will be quicker to patch them back up!" Diancie reminded. Zachary thought about it and shrugged. She liked the idea of getting that degree, but not the idea of having to look after Cross and Leo. Infact, if anything she'd keep them in pain longer. 

"That is an idea i suppose" Zachary finally commented. 

"I say you go for being the engineer son" Sarge said, adding his two cents to the conversation. 

Zacharys right eye twitched. "Son? Ugh, for the last time i'm not a gu-"

"You could spruce up Lopez for us sometime! Maybe change his voice thingy... i'm quite the engineer myself. Made Simmons robot arm thing too" Sarge interrupted, making Zachary growl. Noticing Sarge was now paying attention to him Simmons stopped trying to fix his robot arm but instead smile at his superior. "Either way, Engineer is the way to go. Heh, perhaps you could even get some help from Mackenzie. Shes a bit of a mechanic too" Sarge concluded, looking around. "Speaking of which... where is she? Haven't seen her in a while..."

Zachary, Cross, Leo and Diancie looked at eachother. They shrugged, giving off confused glances. Personally, they had no idea where Mackenzie was. Like Sarge said, it'd been a while since they'd seen her...

\---

"Smith, are ya hungry?"

Smith looked up only to instantly be hit in the face by a packet of chips. He looked at the wrapping. It was a rather unhealthy brand but he didn't wanna be ungrateful. So, he opened it and ate three before passing the rest back to Mackenzie. "Thanks m'am" He saluted. 

"No problem Tas" Mackenzie replied, brushing her hair to the side. 

"Miss, thats not my name" Smith reminded. 

Mackenzie flinched and covered her mouth. Smith watched her as she... was she crying? Mackenzie wiped her tears away. "R-right smith" She said, trying to sound okay. She clearly wasn't. 

Smith rested a hand on her shoulder. "Miss, whats wrong? Are you okay?" Smith asked, being cautious. "Who is Tas? Is it someone you know?" Smith questioned. Mackenzie stayed silent. Usually, Smith would respect someone if they wanted to keep quiet. Especially a commanding officer... but now was different. Something was driving him to do this. "Miss, please answer me?"

"Smith..." She began, her voice cracking. "Tas is what i used to call my old boyfriend..." 

Smith stared. "W-what Miss?" 

\---

"Huh?" Wash pulled the strange object from under the bed. It was a... teddy bear? It seemed somewhat old. On the front were large bold writing spelling the name 'Caboses'. Wash instantly knew who it belonged to. He didn't know how it ended up in what was Tex's old room, but somehow it had. He began making his way to Cabooses room, where he had Church and Caboose talking. He opened the door quietly. 

"-when we got here but... do you really think? I mean... and how he wanted to stay in the airship. WITH WASH. Red base WAS more spacious after all. Holy shit! It all makes sense. How could i have been so fucking blind this whole time?" Church said. It was at this moment he had opened the door a little too quietly. Church hadn't known he'd come in. Caboose did though, he was facing him. 

"Church..?" 

"I mean, its obvious to anyone with half a brain! Maybe not Wash... god, i can't believe this" Church stated making Wash start raising an eyebrow. What were they talking about? "God... Tucker loves Wash!" Wash went bright red. Oh. Thats what they were talking about...

Caboose stared not saying anything to try and stop Wash from blushing harder. "Um... Church? Maybe you should stop talking about this..."

"Caboose, i'm allowed to be fucking surprised" Church retaliated. "Wouldn't anyone be after a huge fucking revelation like that? Its obvious. TUCKER LOVES WASH" Silence entered the room. Even Caboose was quiet. "Caboose?" Church raised an eyebrow. 

"Um... Church..." Caboose pointed to behind him. Church turned. 

Wash stuttered a little when the cobalt-wearing man finally saw him. Did Tucker like him? I mean, of course he did but like that? Wash had always liked him. Maybe. He wasn't going to admit it. He tightened his grip on the teddy bear. Yup, he definitely came in at the wrong time.

"Psst! Church!" Caboose whispered trying to get Wash to not hear him. Wash still did. "I think Washingtub heard the secret!" 

"Yeah..." Church bit his lip. "I think so too buddy"


	34. Chapter 33, Nightmares, Hallucinations And Revelations

_Felix tossed and turned in bed. Always did. Probably nightmares... atleast thats what Locus figured. He did this every night. Go to bed and then wake up sweating. It had gotten to the point where Locus felt sympathy. Trust me, he did not feel that emotion very often. Especially feeling it towards someone like Felix. Locus would ask what the dreams were about but she knew the answer, even if Felix hadn't told him. The dreams were about the war. He was nervous about all of them even if Felix would never admit it._

_This time though, it was different. He woke up crying. That was new. Locus had never seen Felix cry. Mainly because of the fact Felix hated appearing vulnerable to people. It was like this time, he was finally letting it all out knowing full well that Locus was in the exact same room. Just a bed over... or he'd completely forgotten that he was there at all. Lets test that._

_"Felix, are you crying?" Locus asked. Though he was concerned the question came off cold-hearted and emotionless._

_Felix jumped a little. He wiped away his tears instantly, almost as if it was a reflex. "I-i'm not crying! You must be seeing things retard. I'm just... just..." Felix shut his mouth when Locus moved into his bed with him. He ran his hands through his hair. "What the fuck are you doing?"_

_"Tryin' to get you to be able to sleep" Locus remarked, still running his hand through his hair._

_Felix flinched a little. Was he being... supportive? He didn't wanna say, but it was helping. Somewhat. "Thanks" Felix whispered, almost akwardly. Locus chuckled at the confusion in his voice._

_"You're welcome"_

_Felix opened one eye. Oh great, a dream. Well... more like a memory. He turned to his side. Where Locus usually was, was instead Delaware. Someone who would no way ever be a welcomed replacement. Felix shut his eyes tightly groaning. "Why'd the one thing going for my life have to betray me like a fucking cunt..."_

_\---_

York, i love you...

Those words. York had heard them being said by so many people. Carolina, Delaware and... and... York stopped himself from thinking about it. He rolled over on his bed and stared at the ceiling. York knew what was going on around him. Grif and Simmons, Tucker and Wash, Church and Caboose etc. They were all going to end up together. Somehow, someway. York used to feel like they did a long time ago. Someone close to him. Someone he loved. York used to feel like that with Carolina, never had been able to let her go truth be told. Yet, that was before she kicked him into the sky and threw up his lighter along with him. That changed things.

Then he found another, someone who helped him after Carolina...

North.

It started with friendly chat, then flirts, then kissing and then large, overly sweet dates. Till' North died and god, did that hurt. It hurt more then anything in the world. Now he was on the rebound. It didn't help also that when he was brought back alive the first face he saw was her. Carolina.

She couldn't have just said hello, York sighed. Instead, she did that smile very few got to see, helped him up and gave a kiss directly on the lips. That didn't help. Why did he have to be so unlucky? Love, its a hard thing to obtain. Whats harder then getting a loved one though? Keeping one. That was the one thing York was never able to learn. Well.... intentionally, anyway.

"York, are you alright?"

York didn't wanna turn around but he did anyways. He saw exactly what he suspected. North. Yet still, it wasn't him. Just a hallucination, a dream... maybe even a hope? "H-hey North, what ya doing out so early?" Why did he have to talk!? York didn't understand himself sometimes. He was seeing North because of one reason. He can't let things go. York almost screamed in his own mind at that moment. LET. THEM. GO.

"I dont want to upset you, but you cant let people go that easilly..." North stated. York flinched. North was his hallucination. He could hear him. His thoughts, his motivations. Then again, alive North would have been able to do that just as well. He was smart like that. "I dont think i'd be smart enough to be a mind-reader York..."

York checked his clock. It was three in the morning. This time was all too familiar. The same time North died and the same time this North would fade away. York let out a breath of annoyance, maybe even sadness before taking one good look at the lie of a person that stood before him. This North was fake. York knew that, but he needed closure. He did everytime this happened.

"I love you... North"

Silence. North faded away. York never knew why his brain couldn't allow North to repeat the words back. Maybe because Yorks last words to him weren't that... or perhaps because in reality, if York had said that, his brain would have no idea if North would say that. Maybe he'd be a jerk, maybe he'd be a sweetheart. The answer was unknown. Forvever will be too. So, as much as saying 'i love you' to a fake North helped, York knew one thing. One thing he debated. The whole reason he'd say those three words secretly granting him nothing. Closure could never be in his reach.

\---

Tucker wasn't expecting what happened next. He was just watching resovoir dogs (for the hundredth time in a row) thats it. He didn't think that all of a sudden, a bright red-faced Wash would run out of blue base. Not even giving Tucker the curtosy of a glance. He was followed by Church and then Caboose. "Wash, wait!" Church called after him. No reply.

"Dude, what the fuck happened?" Tucker asked. Church jumped. Tucker rolled his eyes. You'd think by now Church wouldn't be startled. Tucker lived there. It was to be expected he'd be somewhere around.

"N-nothing dude" Church retaliated.

"Fucking liar" Tucker shot back. Church raised an eye-brow. Oh really? Tucker groaned. "C'mon dude, i just saw Wash run out of blue base, you and Caboose run after him and then you shout for him to come back, it was like some dramatic soap opera" Tucker said, barely hiding his smirk. "So, lemme' ask again dude. What the fuck happened?"

"W-well..." Caboose bit his lip. "Tucker did it!" And with that he ran out of the room as fast as he could. A door-shutting sound was heard. Welp, looks like Caboose evacuated.

"Caboose!" Church yelled, clearly agrivated. He snapped his attention back to Tucker. "Okaaaay, looks like i'm saying this shit. We may of-sorta-probably accidentally told Wash you had a crush on him..."

"YOU WHAT!?!?" Tucker screeched.

Suddenly in the distance, a small yell was heard from Cabooses room. "I STILL STAND BY MY WORD THAT TUCKER DID IT!!!"

 


	35. Chapter 34, Elsewhere In The Galaxy...

_"Doc, holy shit dudes!? Is he okay!?"_

_"It doesn't matter if hes alright or not, we gotta get moving!"_

_"But Grif, we can't just-"_

_"I hate to say it but Grifs right, we have to leave!"_

_"B-but... he!"_

_[Sorry Donut]_

_"I have no idea what Lopez said son, but i do think we gotta skedaddle. Otherwise we're all dead"_

_"Oh shit, i think it doesn't matter anyway dude..."_

_"W-what!?"_

_"Just checked his pulse... he's dead"_

_"Really? Aw, fuck man. Well, atleast i get his rations"_

_"GRIF!?!"_

_"What!"_

_"No time to argue, c'mon guys. We're all gonna die!!!"_

_*footsteps*_

_"W-wait! He lied guys... please... come... ba...ck...."_

\---

"Guys... please... come.... back?" Doc opened one of his eyes to find himself in a hospital room. He was covered in sheets and was surrounded by medical equipment. "What the? Am i in a hospital?" Doc questioned himself. " _Well, if that is the case it must be run by buffoons. Who leaves someone unconcious alone while we're recovering?_ " O'Malley chipped in. Doc sighed. "Oh shush O'Malley..." He got up, hoping to scope around. A small plate on the wall revaled he was in Chorus. Maybe his friends didn't forget him!

"Sir, your out of your bed!" Doc turned. A women with shiny blonde hair and round red glasses looked at him with a big grin plastered on her face. She was holding a tray full of supplies. Before Doc could get a better look at them she rushed towards him, dropping her supplies, grabbing him and placing him in a chair. "This is unbelievable!"  She said excitedly. "We all thought you were going to die, no-one had faith in me, looks like i proved them wrong eh?" She gave Doc a playful punch. "Oh im getting carried away! Please, tell me your name sir!"

Doc raised an eyebrow. If he had been rescued by his friends, wouldn't she know his name? Wouldn't they tell her? Or maybe... maybe they didn't come back for him... why did Tucker feel his pulse and claim he was dead? Maybe he had to lie so Donut and all that would leave quicker... but still... "I... my name is Frank..."

"State your occupation" She asked kindly.

Doc nodded. "Medic" He spoke. " _Though some could say i'm a being of all destruction, waiting to strip you of your insides_ " O'Malley chuckled, his laugh giving a creepy atmosphere to the room. Doc covered his mouth. "Sorry about that..." He smiled nervously.

"Multiple personality disorder?" She tilted her head to the side. "Ooh, what joy. I SO need to tell my sister about this... she will be so intriqued" The woman clapped her hands together and made her way to a shelf near the far-end of the room. She took out a small container of pills and read the label. "Just right" She made her way back to Doc.

"If you dont mind me asking miss... whats your name?" Doc questioned.

She stared at him. "Ooh... well, my name is Annie Grey" She informed. She adjusted her glasses.

Doc thought for a moment. Grey. Where had he- doctor Grey? His mind rushed and his heart beated faster. "Doctor Grey? Like, is that what you're called!?" The woman nodded. "DOCTOR GREY, ITS ME!!! DOC!!!" He said, filled with utter joy.

Annie gave him a confused look. "Hehe... sorry Doc, but i don't know you..." She said, sighing. "Must have hit his head harder then i suspected..." She mumbled, writing something down. She looked back up to see a sad expression on the mans face. "Oh! I'm so sorry i just... i really don't know you... maybe i'm just forgetting" She suggested. "Are you from somewhere in Chorus?"

Doc shrugged. "Kinda, i lived there for a while"

"Hmm..." Annie smiled. "I need you to be more exact sweetie... do you mean Armonia? Saturn? Starburn? Or right here, in Juniper?" She asked.

Doc bit his lip, puzzled. "I have no idea what those are... i mean, Armonia i do but... those others? Where are they?" Doc said, clearly confused. _"Wait, don't answer. I'm sure if i did know i would hate them_ " O'Mally commented. "Oh c'mon O'Malley, aren't you curious? No. Not ever. But isn't it strange?" As the two personalities bickered Annie sighed, crossed her arms and waited. When they finished, she spoke up again.

"Listen Doc... and O'Malley, i think its rather interesting that Armonia is the only one you remember. That one, specifically" Annie stated.

"What do you mean?"

"Well..." Annie moved over to another shelf. This one a little closer then the one before. She picked a book out of it. It was a history book but seemed to be somewhat new. "...Armonia was the only area. Until, after the war finished, new places were established. Saturn in the rainforest biome, Starburn in the rocky beaches and finally Juniper" She opened a window to reveal snow and falling snowflakes shimmering in the light. "In the snow" She concluded. "Which means..." She pranced around happily. "...you were knocked unconcious two years ago!"

"WHAT!?!" Doc shouted, nearly falling off the chair. "That can't be right! I've missed two years!? _Not like those years were important anyway, if anything i'm glad_. O'malley, its important to me. _Oh c'mon, your friends left you! Who wants to live in a world with those selfish idiots_. They didn't leave me! They probably brought me here... _yeah, after they left you. Think straight Frank. You're being blind._ BUT O'MALLEY-"

"Hold on sweetiepie" Annie intervened. "What friends?"

"D-Donut, Sarge, Tucker, Grif- basically a bunch of utter morons. O'malley be nice!"

"I dont know who the heck they are, but it seems like you- O'Malley has a grudge against them. May i ask why?" Annie said, awaiting a response.

" _Them idiots? They left us. Abandoned us. Those buffoons called us dead. When i get ahold of them i will tear their little limbs apart and replace their lungs with water balloons-_ O'malley please, they had no choice. We were dragging them behi-"

"Doc, please..." Annie placed a finger over his lips. "Let me hear from the deranged one for a bit"

That was certainly something Doc had never heard before. Usually it was to try and fight O'malley, not let him speak. But still, he did as he was told. " _Thank you miss, anyways my point is those jerks left us behind. They could have saved us but instead they went off. My puny roommate doesn't see their betrayl like i do, hes too blind with kindness and hope. Ugh, filthy things"_ O'malley spat.

Annie nodded. "I see, can you be a little more specific though? More detail?" She requested.

" _Sure, whatever_ "

"Thank you" Annie nodded. It might not be one hundred percent honest (definitely would contain some byist claims) but it was a start. Her friends claimed she would never make it as a doctor, but here she was, loud and proud. She would get information out of this nut-case, get every bit of the story. Hargroves orders. Oh, and she would finally make her big sister proud.

Her big sister, Doctor Emily Grey.

\---

"I can't believe you! I let you into my home, grant you my cooking and what do i get!?" Locus made a small grunt as his suitcase was thrown onto his chest. "The murder of my own son!!!" She screeched at him.

"Please, Ms. Gates. I had no choice. He-"

"You had every choice Samuel!!!" She spoke, anger coating her tone. Her orange hair fell nicely on her shoulders as she took her hairtie out. "And this, this gift from you can go burn in hell with ya" She threw it at Locus. "You were my friend Samuel, and look what you've done? Killed my only child who continued our mercenary legacy" Tears strolled down her cheeks as she collapsed on the floor. "Isaac... *sniff* my poor..."

"Ms. Gates i highly apologise" Locus rested a hand on her shoulder. "It was just, he was a killer-"

"AND SO WERE YOU SHITFACE" She shouted, pushing his hand away. "So was your father, so was your mother and..." She choked on her words. "SO WAS I" And with that she slammed the door.

"Ms. Gates..." Locus knocked on her door. "Ms. Gates?" No reply. "Felicia?" Still silence. Locus began making his way away from the door. He took a long look through the window to see Felix's mother sitting back down at the kitchen table and continuting to eat her food. She ate quickly and to anyone it was obvious she was annoyed. Locus sighed. Why did he have to tell her when they were eating? Now, he had nowhere to go.

Why was he the one getting the stink-eye? What about Felix? He killed so many, even a little girl...

_Locus readied his gun as he stormed the house. Many other soldiers doing the same with other buildings. Shotguns were heard aswell as screams. Locus didn't want to do this. Kill an entire town just for their loot. It was pointless. Why couldn't they just take the loot and go? Cover their tracks he supposed..._

_He opened a cabinet and found a small box. Inside was jewellery. It looked like it was worth a lot of money. He put it in his pocket. A gunshot was heard above him. Two screams echoed. A man and a womans. In the distance he heard airship engines. Probably an evacuation issued for the town. Suddenly, he heard whimpering._

_"Mummy, Daddy NOOO!!!"_

_Locus flinched. He turned to see a little girl run down from the stairs, probably seven or eight. She had long brown hair and a pink headband. Oh no. When she saw Locus she screamed. If she ran up the stairs to get away from him whoever shot her parents would truly kill her too. Locus couldn't let that happen._

_"Its okay little girl, i'm Sam. I won't hurt you" Locus tried to comfort her. She seemed unsure. "Whats your name?"_

_"L-Lola... Lola Violet..." She told._

_"Come with me... i can help you..." Locus stated._

_"Really!?" She smiled brightly._

_"Y-yes.." Locus nodded. The girl was clearly innocent. Young with no hope in getting out of this alone. She needed help._

_"Promise?" She offered her hand._

_Locus gave a weak smile. "Yes"_

_Explosions were heard and Locus knew he had to get her out of here. He grabbed her hand and ran for it. She tried to keep up. As they ran he heard many soldiers yell. Many questioning him. He was meant to kill everyone after all. The evacuation planes was just in sight. He smirked. They were so close. She gasped. "Thats it, c'mon mister you can do it!" Her cheers made Locus go faster until..._

_*BOOM*_

_Locus felt himself smash against a wall. He lost track of the little girl. He heard a scream from her though... Someone got her, but who? He tried standing up. Suddenly, the scream from the little girl stopped and a figure emerged from where said scream was heard. Felix. "Felix, what did you-"_

_"Our job, of course" He replied bluntly. No, no, no no no! Locus groaned. Felix passed him, the man was absolutely coated in blood. None of it his. "C-come on..." He pet Locus on the back. "Lets go home, friend"_

_"Friend" Locus basically forced it out. This was the point where things changed. Locus stopped liking Felix from this point. He couldn't believe he'd stoop so low. Instead, he would do anything against Felix now. Felix deserved to die. Felix was heartless and nothing was going to change that because no matter the job, Felix was in. Money was money after all._

Locus did not regret betraying Felix and being the reason he was dead. He didn't care at all. He didn't. He couldn't. After all, someone who wouldn't spare an innocent little girl would never be welcomed as his love.

NEVER.

\---

North glared at his sister. "South, how could you?" He asked. "You thought i was dead didn't you? We were siblings South. Siblings. Why'd you..." North sighed. "...you were given a second chance. A vacation completely paid. Why didn't you take it?" North questioned his twin.

She chuckled. "Oh c'mon North, what did you expect?" Her voice was shaky. Blood pouring out of her chest. "I can't run out of this life. I haven't even gotten started yet. I need it North and you got it" South stated. At first North was confused but the next sentences made it perfectly obvious what she was referring to. "And you got it years ago" She laughed a little, lightly feeling one of her scars. "W-what are you gonna *Cough* do North? Let me die?"

He sighed. "Yes"

"Fine then" She fell to the ground. "Brother of the year award alright..." Her smirk was unsettling. North wanted to help her, so badly, but it would only end worse for him and others. "I'll come back you know. I always do" She laughed again, despite how much pain it caused her. "You could have done better by me North..." She said sorrowfully.

"I know" He admitted. Sorrow in his voice. "I really could've"

"Have fun sleeping with that thought in your head..." She chuckled. "Bye... Mason..."

North sighed. "Bye... Courtney..." South closed her eyes, they didn't open up again. North wanted to bury her, but even he could tell she didn't deserve a proper burial. He took a picture out of his pocket. A picture of York... wherever he was, he was going to find him. Somehow, someway. They could be friends again. Loves again. Just like old times...North gave a light laugh, he smirked at the picture of York. "I love you... Aiden"

"Getting all mushy mushy with the picture again North dude?" He looked up to see her. She was waving for him to come back over. "I think we discovered where your love interest is" She giggled a little. "Now hurry up! We're all waiting for you and i need some beer shit" And with that, she was off.

"They found him? Things are truly turning around..." North said quietly, walking over. "Coming Kaikaina!" 

 


	36. Chapter 35, Out There

"I can't believe all those soldiers from Blood Valley are leaving" Simmons commented. "I mean, i know they were here for like a month but god, it felt like such a short time" He stated. Grif nodded. "But, to be honest, i have no problem with it. Personally, i didn't like them that much..." Simmons admitted. Grif nodded again. "Maybe Mike? He was... alright"

"Why him? What did he do?" Grif questioned, almost instantly.

"Well.... ugh...." Simmons stuttered and he blushed. His face going bright pink. "Lets just say, he helped me out..." Simmons said, finally getting his words. The truth was that present Mike got was meant to be for Grif from Simmons. It was a box of oreos (Grif favorite), and the note? That wasn't a joke. More like a confession. Simmons didn't like thinking about it. Mike though, for some reason he bailed Simmons out. Made up a lie to spare embarassment. It was nice of him, really, it was. Just thinking about it though made Simmons freak. Especially around Grif.

"I see" Grif said smirking. The way Simmons was acting Grif assumed Simmons had a crush on him. It made him feel a strange hint of jealousy.

"But, anyways, lets talk about something else... like... " Simmons thought for a moment. "Hey, heres something i've been wondering. When we first came here me, Sarge, Donut and Lopez all came to red base but you...? Where were you? What did you do when we came here?" Simmons asked. It was a question he had been pondering for quite a while now.

"Oh. That?" Grif went wide-eyed.

"Yeah. That" Simmons agreed. "Where were you?"

"I... i was..." Grif tried to put his words together but he couldn't. He really couldn't. "I... i was just... just..."

"Grif? Are you okay?" Simmons tried putting a hand on Grifs shoulder but was pushed away.

"Yeah, i'm fine. I just... i just dont wanna talk about it..." Grif told. Unknown to Simmons the first thing Grif had done was check out blue base. Not to be with Church or Tucker and definitely not Caboose, but to see Kai. Sister. After all, she had to be there. She couldn't be dead. Grif still denied that. But, as the days passed? He slowly started changing that opinion. "It doesn't matter anyway..."

\---

"North, fucktard! Can you come over here for a second!" Kai called out to North. He began walking over to her. "Okay, where the fuck is everyone else?" She asked.

"Hmm?" North thought for a moment. "Oh, them? They're on the other side of the jet. Why do you-"

"Duh, isn't it obvious?" She said matter of-factly. "I need to know because this has to be private" Kai stated. Suddenly, she grabbed North by his armor and glared into his eyes. "When. Are. We. Gonna. Go. Get. Dex?" She growled. North gave her a questioning glance. She sighed and let go of him. "Don't tell me you forgot! The only reason i went on this shitty ship was because you said that we were going to Armonia. Well, guess what fuck, i've been here for a year now. Still nothing"

"Are you really bringing this up now?" North asked. "Why not earliar? Kai, this is not the time. Besides, we aren't going to Armonia anymore. The A.I. scattered everywhere remember?" North reminded. Kai raised an eyebrow. "How come when we decided to not go to Armonia anymore you didn't bring it up then?" He questioned.

"Um... duh! Because i thought you guys were joking" Kai informed.

North facepalmed. "Why would you think tha-"

"Because it was April Fools day!" Kai interrupted.

"No, no it wasn't" North sighed. "Listen, we aren't going to Armonia. It'll just waste time unfortunately. We're still going to Chorus though. Just not Armonia, we're heading to Juniper. How about this. When we get there you can take a detour to Armonia, see your brother. Hows that?" North asked.

"Its alright" Kai shrugged.

"Glad we've come to an agreement..." North gave a weak smile.

"Hey North, can you come here for a second?"

North sighed and made his way to the sound of one of his partners voices. "What is it Denmark?" He asked.

"Why did the space marine cross the road?" He asked, smirking. North stared for a moment. Denmark snorted. "To get to the massive space marine 'gonna kill Denmark and all his friends' party right outside this ship!" Denmark laughed hysterically. "Get it?"

"Wait, what!!!" North shouted. He looked outside the airships window to see hundreds and hundreds of airships staring right at them. Guns all ready to fire. "Oh no, what are we gonna do?"

"Please, we mean no harm" A voice echoed into the ship. Probably came from a speaker of some kind. "Just hand over Agent Souths stolen armor enhancements and we'll be on our way..."

"Oh no, Denmark what do we do?" North asked.

"I dont know dude, we should probably hand over the enhancements..." He suggested. "After all, if we dont... this situations gonna be heading South pretty quickly!!! Haha... get it?" He asked once more, a big goofy grin on his face. North facepalmed. "Oh c'mon, that was funny!"

"Denmark, we dont have Souths enhancements! We never took them!" North stated. "We cant just tell them we dont have 'em either, or else they'll kill us. They wont believe us because of how strong those enhancements are!" North informed, worried.

"Oh" Denmarks face of happiness suddenly became concerned. "Well, ugh... *ahem* now what?"

"You just keep them occupied. Maybe Hawaii or Arizona have something we can give them!" North instructed before heading off.

"Heh, alright then! Trust me North..." Denmark opened up a drawer and pulled out a jokebook. "I'll keep 'em occupied. When they leave after today they're gonna have my signature DenMARK. Haha, get it?" Denmark chuckled looking around. "Its so sad laughing by yourself" He then smiled, cracked his knuckles and clicked the loudspeaker button just behind the steering wheel. "Hey friends! While my friend retrieves Souths unit, i'm gonna stall you... i mean, ugh... keep you occupied! I mean, OH GODDAMNIT! THE POINT IS I'LL KEEP YA COMPANY!" He finally spluttered out. "So, to start... whats the tastiest bird ever? A magPIE! HAHA, get it?"

\---

"Felix, i think someones trying to find us" Delaware informed.

"Yeah right, like thats happening. I covered my tracks" Felix said smugly.

Delaware rolled her eyes. "Oh really? Is that so?" She asked, doing her best at a quote on quote nice voice. Felix nodded. "Well then... WHAT THE FUCK ARE THESE GUYS DOING!?" She screeched, showing him video footage from outside. Two armored soldiers were walking towards their base. One Felix recognised as Lietunent Smith and the other he had no clue.

"They could just be having a nice walk D" Felix said, groaning. "They probably accidentally came across us... no need to worry shitface"

"I was hoping you'd say that" She laughed quietly, turning on the sound of the footage.

"Hey, so ugh, can you tell me more about this Felix fella we're apple after?" The voice first spoke.

"Sure thing m'am!" The other chimed in.

"Oh... well fuck me" Felix said, making an annoyed grunt.

"Fuck you indeed" Delaware spat. She quickly grabbed Felixs hands and pushed him against the wall. "Deal. With. It. I don't want some idiots ruining my payday" She spoke nastilly.

Felix nodded, breaking free of her grasp. "Sure thing boss" He put emphasis on the last word, clearly trying to annoy her. "I'll deal with you're problem. Don't want you being bitchy all night..." Felix stated, smiling at his own insult towards her.

"Better refrain from insulting me Felix" She warned. "Or else that attitude of yours is getting shoved right up your ass" She smiled sinisterly. "Now, TAKE. CARE. OF. IT"

"Yes m'am" Felix said, gulping a little. God, how he hated this chick. I mean, he knew she wouldn't actually kill him or somehow put his attitude up his butt but even still, her voice and that threatening gaze? It still scared him shitless. Why couldn't he have been partnered with literally anyone else? He had no clue. The point was though, getting the job done. Felix cracked his knuckles grinning. Looks like he was about to make two corpses....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please comment and tell me what you think. 
> 
> -FanficNinja :)


	37. Chapter 36, Strong As Steel

Felix sighed. He was finally at his destination. Hiding behind a corner and awaiting lietunent Smith and the stranger to walk by him just so he could surprise them. Felix didn't usually like doing surprise-attacks. To him, it was boring. Locus always did the sneak attacks but he wasn't here anymore. All that was here was Felix. Delaware too, but the funny thing is Felix had never actually seen her fight. He didn't know her attack patterns and all that. According to command, she was strong. **Incredibly** strong. Felix really desired to see that. Her fighting, how strong she was. If she was as powerful as they all claim. Yet, as if fate was working against him (why wouldn't it?) Delaware hasn't needed to fight since coming here. Atleast, in her opinion she hasn't had any moments where she couldv'e fought.

Felix poked his head around the corner, catching a small glimpse of the two before retreating back into the corner. They were just a few steps away. Great. He no longer would have to wait for much longer.

"Hey, hold on a second hun" It was a womans voice. "Did ya seaweed see that?"

 _Seaweed see? What the fuck does that mean?_ Felix groaned. Why did he always have to fight crazy people? At this point he was hoping for someone normal to come along. He couldn't deal with this anymore, seriously.

"See what m'am?" That was Smith. Felix didn't really remember much about him. Well, besides the fact that he was an absolute kiss-ass. In some aspects however? He was the sanest one. Felix could cope with him.

"I saw someones head poke out..." The womans voice answered. Felix heard a gun being reloaded. "I think someones watching us..." She informed.

_Oh, son of a bi-_

Felix dodged out of the way as bullets charged at him. The woman had surprisingly good aim. So much so, that if Felix hadn't been wearing enhanced armor from command, he'd probably be on the floor by now. This already gave her a one-up on all the idiots Felix has faced.

"Si- Felix?" Smiths voice was questioning. As if he expected someone else. Sort of. His voice showed that he knew there was a chance. Just... he still wasn't prepared for it. Then again, Felix did chuckle a little when Smith had almost said sir. Guess old habits die hard.

"Lietunent Smith, what a pleasure to see you again" Felix bowed. "You know, i don't think we see eachother that much anymore. Real shame. You were always the tolerable one" Felix raised his gun. "But then again... i have a job to do" Felix shot. Unfortunately for him the woman pushed Smith out the way.

"So... you're the one who shellfish shot my cousin" The woman growled, still smiling. Was that even possible? _Wait, did she say cousin?_ Seems like this chick was related to Caboose. Just because of that, Felix allowed himself to let down his guard. "Honestly, i expected more competition. Not some skinny scrub" She commented. "Names Mackenzie and i already know that you're Felix sooooooooo, what can i say that you're probably too thimble thick-headed to understand by now?" She laughed a little. "Oh right! Shooting my cousin was a mistake" And with that, she charged at him.

Her first move was to try kicking him but Felix simply smirked and grabbed her foot. He intended to make her confused (so much so that she would end up distracted and land her an easy hit in the face) but Mackenzie wasn't going down that easy. Thinking quickly, she punched Felix square in the face. "Augh! Fuck me!"

"Heres a tip for ya hun, watch ya face" She teased. Suddenly, she grabbed Felix by the shoulders and smashed his head into her thigh. He let out a small grunt of annoyance before he grabbed her and smashed her against the surrounding canyon walls. Keeping her there, he pressed his gun to her neck. "Oh damn..."

"What is it bitch? Did you expect me to be easy?" Felix asked, a villainous grin plastered on his face.

"Yes" She replied, smiling.

"WHAT!? BUT-I... HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT WHEN I'VE GOT YOU PINNED TO A WALL!?" He questioned, clearly frustrated. His grin becoming a scowl.

"Because someone in an easy fight wouldn't remember when theres two people against them" Mackenzie spoke.

Felix thought for a moment. His eyes going wide. "Wait... augh shit! I forgot about-"

He fell to the ground as Smith knocked him over the head with a rifle. "Good job hun" Mackenzie beamed. "You know, the guys all spoke of you like you were a real fright. Someone not to be messed with. Here though? I ducky dont see it. Maybe its just old age" She chuckled a little. Felix cringed at that. Smith held him down. Mackenzie stooped down, took of his helmet and aimed her gun directly at his head. "I wonder if.... huh...." Mackenzie lowered her gun. She took a long look into Felixs eyes. "You're missing someone, aren't ya hun?"

"WHAT!" Felix growled. "No! I can do this myself. Don't bring up Locus you bitch"

"Now who is Locus? Mackenzie asked. "Listen Felix, i have never met ya before. I think. You do kinda- well the point is anyway hun, I don't know about any of this. What ya talking about and all that. Yet, heres the thing... it seems like ya miss him. Locus. Or else ya wouldn't dare bring him up"

"I don't miss that traitor! That cunt can go burn in hell for all i care" Felix shouted. He then started smirking. "You're just buying yourself some time y'know. I can break free of Smiths grasp anytime. Then, i'll kill him. Then you. Then almost everyone in this god forsaken canyon. Then... well... your cousin is not gonna have a very good night, now is he?" Felix laughed. Mackenzie stared at him. "What? No reaction? Don't you get it? I'm going to kill him. Why aren't you doing-"

"I knew you looked familiar" Mackenzie stated. She raised her gun again. "Isaac, you really are just as pathetic as you were back then..."

"What m'am?" Smith looked up at her. "Isaac? I don't... m'am i..."

"How the fuck did you know that!? Who the hell are you!?" Felix snapped.

"Heh... " Mackenzie giggled. " _One more lap soldier_?" She winked.

Felix gasped. His eyes were wide. He shook. He wasn't trying to escape anymore. He was in a state of shock. "N-no... i... you're! Thats just... bitch, you're meant to be... i... we **all** saw you..." Felix clenched his fists. "You're meant to be **dead**. _How_ are you alive?"

"Oh hun" Mackenzie ruffled Felixs hair, much to his annoyance. "You dont deserve an answer to that... prepare to die uneasy" She told, getting ready to shoot. "Well, that is depending on whether or not you can still get out of Smiths grasp anytime like you claimed before" She said, grinning. Felix stared at her. Everything was silent. "Thats what i thought. Three.... two.... one..." Felix shut his eyes tightly. "...and fire!"

"Not so fast" Felix opened his eyes to see Delaware push Mackenzie to the side. She picked Felix up by his armor and pushed him into the wall. "You idiot! Do i have to do everything myself?" She questioned angrilly. Suddenly, without a warning she grabbed Felix and pressed a button on her suit. They vanished, or more or less, teleported.

Smith and Mackenzie turned to eachother. "Um... Mackenzie" Smith looked at her. "How do you know Felix?"

Her eyes were stern, like she was a completely different person. "That is something you don't need to know"

\---

"I can't believe you guys are leaving so soon!" Donut remarked, watching as the group of people that had come over for the christmas party walked onto the aircraft.

"I know, it did feel rather short" Diancie replied. "But Diancie and pals must leave to thy's base!" She announced.

"Invite us over any time" Mike said, smirking. "We had fun here. Despite its obvious and disgusting flaws...." He somewhat insulted, looking around at the canyon. "Have no idea where Mackenzie is though. So, uh, if you find her? Say we didn't forget her. We just, didn't give a crap about her" Mike instructed. "Also call her a bitch"

"Wouldn't forgetting her be a little nicer then saying that?" Donut questioned.

"No. Besides, she deserves being called that. She was the only one who Daniel listened to. Now that shes gone, that A.I. Fiasco is gonna get to him more, make him freak out and he'll probably kill one of us in his sleep" He told flatly. He then started leaning closer towards Donut. "Lets pray to god its Honey-Lemon he kills" He whispered.

They both looked towards Honey-Lemon, who was prancing into the ship happily. "Wooo, lets go go go to the ship. Its metal! Ooh, i like metal things. I like a lot of things. Everything is so wonderful today. Flamefourth, what do you think?" Silence. "Flamefourth?" Honey-Lemon called again. "FLAMEFOURTH!?" She yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Looks like ms. Cheery cheer forgot her death bunny" Neon commented. She turned to Jay. "Make sure you have everything N, don't wanna lose anything" She said, smiling.

Jay nodded. He looked through his armor pockets. "Um, i did forget something..." He said nervously.

"Better go back and get it. What did you lose?" Neon raised an eyebrow.

"The USB!" Jay stated. His face clearly showing he was panicking.

"WHAT!?" Neon yelled, her eyes wide. "Well, go get it before someone finds it!" She half-whispered.

"R-right!" Jay stuttered.

"Too. Late." Wash walked up to them. He was definitely angry. Neon ran for it. Jumping through the airships window and sitting herself down next to Zachary. Jay started to climb the airship and walk through the broken window Neon had somehow managed to jump through considering how high it was but was instead pulled down by Wash and brought inches apart from his face. Washs face emoting rage.

"H-hey Wash!" Jay shivered, noticing the very familiar USB Wash was holding.

Wash clenched his fists. "You have a lot of explaining to do"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and please leave a comment! -FanficNinja


	38. Chapter 37, Information

Wash ran out of blue base. He heard Church and Caboose call out to him, but he didn't really want to listen to them. Nor anyone for that matter. He swear he heard Tucker say something too, but he wasn't quite sure. Did he even pass Tucker? He didn't know. Too busy running away. Hopefully Tucker didn't think he was rude. But, that aside, Wash just wanted to hide. He didn't feel like talking to anyone. His mind had just been blown. He needed to recover. So much so, that he didn't even care when he hid in one of the newcomers tents as soon as he ran by it. It was a good hiding spot, and thankfully no-one was in it. Probably caught up leaving.

Wash sat down in the tent. Its blue walls putting him at ease. He took a deep breath. "I cannot believe he likes me..."  Wash said to himself. "And that it was so obvious" He added, sighing. He looked around and examined the tents details, trying to figure out who it belonged to. He quickly found a note inside it, taped on the wall and dotted in love hearts. "Whats this say? Hmmm, _Dear Reds, Blues and other people, we were very happy we could come here! It was really fun! Hope to see you again, Jay and Neon. P.S Do not read this if its not when we're leaving. Why are you in here anyway? Snooping? Dont._ " Thats where it ended.

Wash didn't really have much to do after reading it. Everything else must have been taken. Besides, something... a USB poking out of the standard blue team blankets. Wash picked it up and studied it. It was blue with a hint of pink on it and had text on the front reading: _Top Secret_. Wash pondered that. Jay was now nothing but a soldier in a canyon, much like Wash at one point, what on earth would he still have that would be so secret? It was strange... atleast in Washs opinion. "Huh... maybe i could sneak into Simmons computer thing at red base. Then i can see whats on here..."

"Good luck with that foul mortal"

Wash flinched. He turned to see a red bunny emerge from under the blankets. "F-Flamefourth... right?"

"Yes, that is the name i was given by that shaved ape Honey-Lemon after all" He spoke. "If you really like me though and understood my suffering however, you'd call me- well, i don't need to tell you that, now do i? Wash"

"Right. How do you know my name?" Wash asked. The bunny frowned, turned on its side and turned to look at Wash once more. He was glaring. Wash was confused at that but still pushed for the conversation to continue. "Okay then... so uh what did you mean Good luck with that? Y'know, with the USB" Wash questioned.

"Oh, that?" Flamefourth stared. "Heh, it needs a password" He informed.

"Oh" Wash sighed. "Looks like i cant access it after all..." He said defeated.

Flamefourth thought for a moment. He was hesitant but soon got up and growled at the blonde. Not evil growling more like... growling at himself. Why that might be Wash didn't know. "Listen you idiotic homo-sapien, i'll cut you a deal" Wash looked up at the rabbit. "I'll give you the password and YOU **must** free me. By that, i mean get Honey-Lemon to leave me here"

"R-really?" Wash choked. "You'll help me just for that?"

"Why of course" The bunny smirked. "Washington, a trade is only fair. We have experienced so similair that when it comes to getting what one wants and cutting _you_ a deal is the only punishment? I see no problem. Much but an opportunity for types like us to connect. Maybe even the start of a friendship?" The bunny raised an eyebrow smoothly. Wash blinked. "Then again, that is merely just a _possibility_ " Wash wondered what the rabbit meant by ' _we have experienced so similair'_ but before he could comment the firey rabbit continued. "Listen, Agent Washington" The bunny started creeping towards him. "I have been the _some-would-call-slave_ of this woman for so long it has driven me insane. Not to say **before** her life played out ever so well for me though. It did not. Yet still, i do not deserve **this** " He took a seat right infront of Washs feet and tilted his head to the side. "So, Washington, do we have a deal?" He finally finished.

Wash considered for a moment, but his answer was inevitable. "Deal"

"Good" The rabbits back lit up in flames for a couple seconds; symbolising his happiness. "The password is 57A34" He annouced. "Now, the next time you see Honey-Lemon tell her i'm dead" He smirked.

"Wait, was this all... _really_ that easy?" Wash questioned.

"Of course Wash" The bunny rolled his eyes. "Like i said before we are really similair. From such innocent of a beginning to a darkened future. Though, i guess to most they would still see you as still maintaining a _tad_ of that light-hearted appeal. I however, have not kept any" The bunny told, his voice giving off a little bit of sorrow. "Happy endings are hard to find Wash. You got one. Be grateful"

"Oh... alright" Wash said, surprised by the wisdom being produced by such a small and questionable creature. "Thank you" He gave a weak smile.

"You're welcome" The firey rabbit grinned. "But, now that you have the password, i must ask... do you really need to know whats on this USB?"

Wash stared at him silently. "What do you mean?"

"Washington, you always try to find out more of the past. Little things you forgot. However, heres the thing. You don't need to know any of it. Truly, it haunts me. A lingering problem at the back of my mind. So... why do you need to know?" The bunny asked, a curious look plastered on his face.

"Well, memory is the key" Wash chuckled a bit, proud of his joke.

"Yes, Wash. Yes it is" The rabbit smirked, finally making his way out of the tent. "Memory **is** the key. But, _kinds_ like us..." He got to the door and took one last look at Wash. "...well, heh, our biggest help would be to just forget" And with that, the strangely interesting bunny left the tent, leaving a silent Wash in his wake.

Wash decided now the best thing to do would be to sneak into or ask to come in red base and use Simmons laptop. He needed to see what was on the USB.

\---

Simmons sighed as he scrolled through internet browsers and news articles. Nothing gaining his interest. Well, there were some, but none managed to hold onto said interest for very long. It had been a boring day. Majority of people were outside and saying goodbye to the visitors. Simmons however, couldn't care less. He didn't wanna see Jay. He still knew something was up with them. He couldn't figure out what however.

"Wasting your time online. I thought you grew out of that"

Simmons looked up to see a red bunny staring at him. A look on his face that just made Simmons feel uneasy. "Um... hey. You're Flamefourth right? That thing that belonged to Honey-Lily or... _something_ like that. Aren't you?" Simmons raised his brow.

"A _thing?_  How smart of you" The bunny beamed sinisterly. "Not a bunny nor rabbit. Something **you** get. Flames aren't normal for carrot-chomping creatures. It doesn't make sense. You are the intelligent one though. I should have expected this" The bunny laughed.

"Actually bunnies don't eat carrots. That just became a rumor due to Bugs bunny. The logo character for Warner Bros." Simmons corrected.

The bunny growled in frustration. "You're also the smart-ass" He stated.

"Well, um, why are you here anyways?" Simmons asked, a tad of annoyance in his tone.

"Just to warn you" The bunny replied almost instantly. "You're going to receive a guest soon. A friend. You must let him use your laptop. Thats all i need to say. I'm not taking any chances" He finished. 

"What?" Simmons looked down at his laptop and back up at where the bunny was... but he was now gone. "Okay, what the fu-"

"Oh, you need his laptop?" That was Sarge. Must have been on the outside of Simmons door. "Right in here Agent Washington. Sons on it" Sarge informed.

"Okay, good" That was Wash. You might think Simmons would be confused that the bunny-like thing was correct about a friend wanting to use his laptop soon, but at the moment he was just happy as hell. Why? Because Sarge had just called him _son_. The door opened and Wash walked through. He looked at Simmons, a nervous look on his face. "H-hey Simmons!" He gave a weak smile. "Can i use your laptop? I need to find out whats on this USB..." He said, explaining himself.

"Um, sure..." Simmons allowed, passing over his laptop.

Wash examined it. It was Maroon, much like Simmons old armor but the laptop had silver linings on the side. On the front was an engravement; Richard 'Dick' Simmons. He opened it, placing the USB in the side and watching as the files popped up. "Huh, well thats strange"

"What?" Simmons questioned, who was now on another laptop.

"This is just the Freelancer report files. Why would Nebraska have these?" Wash asked himself. When he noticed Simmons was looking at him confused Wash explained. "These were what Hargrove recieved before he was allowed to make an arrest. They have every single freelancers name on it, so they all would pay the price. Now that i think of it though, Nebraska wasn't sent to jail. On a related note..." Wash went through a couple more files. "There seems to be more files on this one though. Infact, all of the new ones i haven't seen before all have Nebraska in them" Wash said astounded. "And some about mysterious A.I.'s i've never even heard of before!" 

"Really?" Simmons commented.

"Yeah. Also, this USB isn't put as 'Nebraskas' or 'Jays'. Its been put as 'Captain Jamies'. Who if i recall, was the one meant to be delivering this to the UNSC. Shes also a tough fighter. The only way Jay could get this is if this was given to him..." Wash told.

"By who?"

"I dont know. Maybe one of these recordings will help" Wash clicked one. Simmons watched it aswell. After it was finished, what they had just seen had just blew their mind. "We can't let him leave"

"No, we cant" Simmons added, agreeing with Wash.

"I just... i knew he was still a..." Wash felt his head, a headache forming. "He went there because he was trying to find us... and now that hes found the right place..."

"We're dead" Simmons gulped.

Washs shock soon became rage. "Just like what he did to his old team" He got up and began charging out the room, snatching the USB out of Simmons laptop.

"Wait, what do i do now?" Simmons asked.

"Try to find anything else on it that could prove his true nature or whatever" Wash instructed. "I downloaded a few things i thought looked interesting"

"On my laptop? Without asking?" Simmons rolled his eyes and nodded, clicking another video Wash had downloaded as Wash finally left the room. "Lets see here... Agent Nebraskas A.I. implantation recording?"

_"What do i n-need to do sir?"_

_"Lay down" The man instructed._

_Nebraska did as he was told and laid down on a hospital-like bed. It was stiff and not very comfortable but Nebraska was too cautious to complain. "W-will i have the same experience as... Adelaide? Or maybe even Wash?" Nebraska asked._

_"I already said i dont know before, are you deaf?" The man mocked chucking a little. Nebraska frowned. "Sides, you shouldn't know about what happened to Wash and if the news ever did fly by your ears i say you should keep it just to yourself. We dont want panic..."_

_"He is a friend of mine" Nebraska told. The man nodded silently at that, seeming to accept it as an answer. Nebraska thought for another moment of a question he could ask before he was implanted. Ha! Got it. "Whats my A.I.'s name?" Nebraska asked quietly._

_"Your A.I. is the A.I. of emotion. Seeing a situation and expressing feelings for it in an extreme manner" The man began, grabbing a small syringe from a high shelf. He went closer to Nebraska which made him shake a little. "Its ability is force. Forcefield, force objects, pushing things back with force, changing gravitys force on you. Pretty good fragment really..."_

_"But what is its name?" Nebraska asked again. "That is what i asked..." The man stayed silent for a minute. Was he hesitant to tell him? Either way he cleared his throat and said the A.I.'s name anyway._

_"You're A.I. is named Neon"_

"Wait, WASN'T THAT-" Simmons took a deep breath. "Wash?" Simmons asked. He remembered though Wash had already left. Realising he would have to go out there and help face out against Nebraska just so he could tell Wash that fighting him wasn't a good idea, mainly because of Neon, Simmons groaned. Closing his laptop and slowly getting up. "Well..." Simmons sighed. "...fuck me"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and please leave a comment! -FanficNinja


	39. Chapter 38, Gun-shots Fired

"Hey Arizona, Hawaii. We have a bit of a problem..." North stated, walking into a big room that was located at the back of the ship. The room was coated in what looked like obscure art. In it, Arizona was playing darts with Hawaii. Arizona barely gave North a glance unlike Hawaii who had turned to him almost instantly. Instead, Arizona continued her shot. She threw the turquoise dart.

"And i win..." Arizona smirked as the dart hit the bullseye perfectly. She then eyed North. "So, whats the problem?"

"We're surrounded" North sighed.

"WHAT!?" Hawaii gasped. "What do you mean, we're surrounded?" She asked, in a much calmer tone then before.

"I unfortunately mean what it sounds like" North informed, opening a curtain on the far end of the room. It revealed a couple airships. There were many more, they were just unseen because of the point of view. "They want Souths armor. I've told Denmark to distract them"

"Oh, well that explains that" Hawaii grinned.

"Explains what?" North questioned.

"Why Delawares been telling his shitty jokes over the ships loudest radio without you going in and telling him off in the nicest way possible" Arizona chuckled. North raised an eyebrow. "Don't you know? When you're all like ' _come on Denmark, instead of telling you're okay jokes you should write them down. We all like them, but by saying them all at once? Its losing its charm. Maybe spread it out more creatively!_ ' Yeah, that shit" Arizona finished smirking sinisterly.

"Wow" North said deadpanned and sarcastically.

"I know right?" Hawaii beamed, her perky self cutting in. "She sounded just like you!"

"Uh, right" North tried to sound happy. He couldn't be a downer to Hawaii. Her innocence hadn't yet been taken away by the war. Soon enough though, he knew what would happen... it would all fade away.

"Hey North, i think i know how to deal with these guys" North snapped out of his thoughts. Arizona was now looking at all the ships through the window. "I just need the keys" She informed. North gave her a questioning glance. The last time Arizona was in charge of driving... well... things didn't exactly go well. They crashed in Blood Gulch outpost 1 and came across Kaikaina Grif. Well, she told them to call her Sister, for some weird reason. Noticing Norths hesitation Arizona groaned. "Oh c'mon North! The same things not going to happen. That was a one-off thing. Sure, i may not be the best driver-"

"You're kind-of the worst driver actually Arizona" Hawaii butted in.

"...but i have gotten better at it" Arizona said, giving a quick glare to Hawaii. "Please North, though we crashed last time this time will be different. Sides' if you do recall, when that happened we were in a predicament much like this. I saved all of us!" Arizona gave a thumbs up.

"Didn't Denmark break his leg in the crash?" Hawaii commented.

"Oh whatever, no-one likes D" Arizona stated coldly. She then looked at North. "What do you say N? Up for this great plan or what?" She asked.

North sighed, lifting up the keys. "I am probably gonna regret this but if you truly think you can handle it, then here you go"

Arizona snatched the keys from him. "Thank you North" She grinned, beginning to walk over to where the steering wheel for the ship was located. "Oh! And yes, you probably are gonna regret this" She chuckled.

North and Hawaii gulped. North especially nervous. Yup, I definitely made a mistake.

\---

Simmons finally managed to make it to the airship. There, he saw Wash holding Jay by the collar along with Donut trying to stop him. Neon beginning to walk out of the ship herself and make her way over to them. Simmons, knowing what she really was, began walking over to them a lot faster. He started making out what they were saying the more he got closer. "I knew it was suspicious you came back when you knew i was here! Did you really think we wouldn't find out?" Wash spat, glaring at the shaking brunette.

"M-maybe" Jay stuttered.

"Don't play dumb with me!" Wash growled. "You are **not** innocent! Switching sides just like that... what you did to Delaware was especially sick-hearted. They were you're friends! Why would you do that to them? One was your girlfriend even. What even made you do that?" Wash questioned. Anger in his tone.

Jay sighed. "Wash, i do feel bad but..." He clenched his fists. "...i don't want to die. Sometimes because of that though i need to change sides. It doesn't really matter. Delaware was a bitch, Adelaide was crazy, Tasmania was an idiot, Alaska didn't give a crap and Minnesota..... she...." He paused. "The point is sometimes we just need to live, y-you know what i'm saying right?" Jay tilted his head to the side.

Wash stared. "I do. I've made the same mistake but i changed...and this is different. If i let you leave we're all as good as dead 'cause you're the kind of person who won't change" Wash stated. "I don't trust you enough to let you go. You've been looking for us but you ended up in the wrong place, Blood Valley. You came back here though after first coming here for Donuts call not due of me but because you sensed something. You then realised hey! This is the place. You work for Hargrove. You'll tell him we're here and then... he'll send soldiers. We'll all be dead. You work for Hargrove and i know now! No. More. Lies."

Donut gasped, shaking Lopez all around. "Woah! What a twist!"

"Fine. Yes, i do. You're gonna kill me now though, a-aren't you?" Jay said, sorrow clearly showing.

Wash didn't reply. Instead, he merely nodded. "I'm sorry Jay. I can't let all my friends die just for you" He went to get his gun but...wait... "H-hey, wheres my..?" He heard a gun being reloaded. Oh no. "Jay?"

"Im sorry Wash, i do like you but..." Jay stayed silent for a moment. "As i said before, i don't want to die" He raised Washs stolen gun and aimed it at Washs chest. He had very little time to react. The gunshot was heard and soon enough blood started pouring. Wash caught glimpses of everyone staring at him. Simmons and Donut screamed. Neon was even sad. Yet Jay, he was smiling... winking... he was... happy. That was the last thing Wash noticed before his vision went black.

Jay didn't need to kill Wash. Wash needed to kill Jay. Jay wanted to kill Wash and that scared Wash more then anything, knowing that his friends were no longer safe in this box canyon in the middle of nowhere... and for the second time... he couldn't do anything about it. Suddenly, admist the ringing in his ears Wash heard something. An android of some sort say something.

"*Healing Unit Activated*"

Wash smiled. Maybe he wouldn't be leaving them alone in this fight...

 


	40. Chapter 39, Full Names And Familiar Sightings

Wash fell to the ground.

"Agent Washington!" Donut screamed.

[Hold on, don't panic] Lopez re-assured. He knelt down and tried to see if he was still breathing. [His healing units been activated] Lopez told the others. He then got up and stared at Jay. [Okay, now what the fuck was that!? Why did you shoot him!?! I thought you two were old friends or some shit]

Jay stayed silent. Neon walked up to him. "N, what the fuck!?" Jay looked up to her. "We didn't need to try and kill him. Why the hell were you smiling? Seriously, you're scaring me!" Neon said, tears forming in her eyes. He rested a hand on her shoulder but she pushed it away. "NO!" Jay stared. "This isn't the first time. You've been getting more and more violent every day. You don't want people to think of you as a monster, yet this is what you do! What would Jessie say?" Neon questioned. Jay stood there, shocked. She sighed. "I... i'm sorry. I know i shouldn't bring her up but... you don't seem to listen to me anymore" She was full on crying now. "I'm gonna go..." She said, walking off. No-one having the heart to stop her.

"Neon, please!" Jay tried to run after her but was cut off as Lopez, Donut and Simmons went in his way. He tried to go the other way but some of the newcomers were blocking that part too. "G-guys, i'm sorry! I know i shouldn't have done that... please let me go speak with her!" Jay called out. They just looked at him, not saying anything. Jay wasn't concentrating on them though. He was lost in his own thoughts. He clenched his fists.

"Okay Agent Nebraska" That was Donut. "We are going to teach you not to mess with one of our friends!" He said enthusiastically, resting his hands on his hips.

"Well then, i'm sorry" Jay stated. They gave him a questioning glance. "I don't want to die so you're gonna have to" He said, raising his gun and starting to fire. Everyone took cover. Through all the chaos, Jay accidentally shot the engine of the airship. The newcomers (aside from a few) all groaned.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Mike said agrivated, punching the ground. "N, what are you doing!? Are you trying to kill us!?" Mike called out to him. Silence. "No reply, huh? Oh well. Daniel. Daniel come here a second" Daniel, who had been keeping to himself since coming here, came up to him. "We're in a bit of trouble here obviously, so can you please pleeeaaassseeee-"

"No" Daniel cut him off. "I-i don't want to do it"

Mike grabbed him by the shoulders. "C'mon D, we're gonna die if you don't!"

"But then they'll think i'm not... well..." He sighed. "The point is they'll fear me. I'm not doing it and thats that" Daniel stated, turning his back to Mike.

"Oh what- so just cause of them your not gonna do it!? Dan, thats a real shitty plan. How are they gonna give a crap about that if they're dead. Besides, you still have me and Honey-lemon! Even red team... sorta. Just do it okay!" Mike pleaded.

Dan gave him a long, kind of quizzical look. "F-fine.. but you owe me"

"Sure, sure whatever. I can give you the rest of my Oreos. Just go!" Mike informed.

Donut leaned closer to Simmons. "What do you think hes gonna do?" Simmons shrugged.

"Alright N, i don't really want to do this but Oreos are damn good so get ready fucktard" Suddenly, Daniel started sprinting. Next thing people knew he looked like a ghost and his armor was left behind. That was something Donut, Simmons and Lopez had all seen before. Daniel jumped into Jay and then he stopped firing. Jay started to talk, but it was Daniels voice. He coughed. "Oh god, this dudes stuffed with croissants. How much of them does he eat a day? Like twenty... " Daniel jumped out and Jay fell to his knees. Soon Daniel was back to normal. "He'll be fine in a second. I think" He added.

"Woohoo! Go Danny!" Honey-Lemon cheered.

Simmons blinked several times. Hoping that atleast once when he opened his eyes it would be revealed as all a dream. That never occured. "What kind of soldiers are these?" He looked over at Donut and Lopez.

"I don't know. They are pretty cool though! Its like they have all these neat superheroes on their team. Do you think anyone have them have... _laser-vision_?"

[No] Lopez bluntly replied. [That makes no sense. Unless they were half-robot atleast]

"Half-robot?" Donut gasped. "Wait, do **you** have laser-vision!?!"

[Si. Sarge built me after all. When i told him it took up space which could be used to retrieve blue base archives and information, he said that theres no fun in destroying everything the blues could use to fight us, but instead wait for grif to die in the battle and then kill them ourselves]

" _Riigghhtt_... whatever you say Lopez. I'm going to go check out the newcomers from Blood Valleys red team" Simmons informed, walking off. "All these soldiers are so strange. Yet, we haven't heard anything from red team. I need to investigate" He said to himself confidently.

Blood Valleys red team looked at eachother. Diancie sighed. "Men. Diancie forgot Daniel could do that. So, due to thys genius, thy has come up with a new strategy of attack when we go to Blood Valley so she does not die" She grinned. "You three will be in front of me, hoping to be possessed. Then, thy will go around, get on their ship and get the heck out of here. What do thy think? One of Diancies best plans yet or what?"

"No. Thats stupid" Zachary groaned. "One, how do we win? You, at _no_ stage are getting the flag in that plan. Two, what do we gain besides you? You're abandoning us in that plan!"

"I wouldn't say abandoning" Leo said, drinking his applejuice. "Theres a chance she could come back, and then we could beat the shit out of her for being a crappy sargent"

"I like the sound of that" Zachary smirked.

"But thats just- fuck that plan, Leo" Cross argued. "Why would she come back?"

"Probably to kill Chaos and his absolute refusal to listen to Diancie" She stated. "That idiot deserves to die. Everyone should bask in Diancies greatness"

"Ah, Chaos. Its still a shame he didn't wanna come" Cross said. 

"Yeah. Probably wanted to _stay_ with Zero" Leo winked.

Simmons finally made it over to them. "Ahem"

"But, in Chaos's defense he listens to all our shitty requests. Even blue team. He just never listens to you. You even toyed with him by ordering us to tell him to do something just so he would do it the fucktard. You've always done that to get your way with him" Leo said, paying no mind to Simmons. "Don't you...?"

"Like that system?" Cross concluded.

"Um... Ahem!" Simmons tried again,

"I guess it does make Diancie happy" Diancie admitted. "Making the idiot do something against his will by using someone elses words. Its like... manipulation. Diancie was very proud of herself for that"

Simmons eye twitched. "Um.. excuse me but-"

"Your idea! I told you all about that shit with Chaos! How was it your idea?" Zachary hissed.

"Because Diancie knowns to execute your idea properly. Y'know most people would be happy that thy has graced your idea with the light of day-"

"And took credit" Zachary mumbled.

"-and given it the chance to bloom into a lovely ironing board" Diancie stated, pointing to the sky. Leo and Cross looked at eachother. Chuckling a bit at how their leader had gotten the phrase wrong. "So please Alex Q. Zachary, don't be an ungreatful welp!"

"Don't use my full name! You're not a parent. Not even a true sargent if you asked me!" Zachary clenched her fists. "How would you like it if i used you're full name? Diancie Seattle!" Zachary smiled sinisterly.

"Pffft. She used you're full name" Cross laughed. Diancie shot him a cold glare. That shut him up.

"That got you to be quiet Yale Cross" Leo snorted, nudging Cross slightly with his elbow.

"You're name is Yale?" Simmons couldn't help but ask.

Cross covered Leos mouth and looked at him. "N-no... its, ugh... Richard. Or some other shitty name" Simmons glared. He had enough of this and began walking away. "Totally not a shitty shitty shitty name like Yale"

Leo finally managed to move Cross's hand away from covering his mouth. "You do realise Yale isn't that bad of a name right?"

"Say that to everyone in high school fucker" Cross stated. Leo rolled his eyes.

\---

Jay felt dizzy when Daniel jumped inside him, and he collapsed when Daniel left. For some reason he had activated all sorts of memory triggers when he was in there. All ones Jay hated reliving.

_"N, i'm scared. Why are you pointing that gun at me?" Minnesota asked. Her eyes wet with tears. "N, whats happened to you? I know you dont know why im doing this but you dont like killing anyone. EVER. Its not like y-"_

_"Please... M, drop the epsilon unit" Jay instructed._

_"How d-did you know about that?" She questioned._

_"You don't need to know. The point is M, that belongs to Project Freelancer. Hand it back, now" Jay requested, stepping a bit closer with the gun._

_Minnesota thought for a moment. "No"_

_"W-what!?" Jay scoffed. "W-why not? P-please... i don't wanna shoot you... give me the unit!" He demanded._

_"Agent Nebraska, what is taking so long? If she is not following orders then shoot her!" That was the director. He must have been using Jays helmets radio to communicate with him._

_"B-but Uncle Church" Jay rested a hand on his helmet. "I can't kill her... i love..."_

_"Ugh, we have no time for this. Just shoot her son!" The director said, banging his fist on the desk he was sat down on as he talked to Jay._

_"R-right" Jay choked. He raised his gun again. "I-im so sorry"_

_"Nebraska, please" Minnesota took a couple steps back. "Freelancer isn't a good place to be at. Leave now. Come with me" Minnesota offered a hand._

_Jay cried. "I-im so... so... SO... sorry"_

_"Jay, plea-"_

_She had died before she hit the ground._

 


	41. Chapter 40, Punching To Bonding

When Delaware teleported back to her and Felix's hide-out she quickly turned to face Felix. Her gaze threatening. "I can't believe you! Command said you were a good fucking fighter and you lose to some idiots in a box canyon in the middle of nowhere!" She hissed. "And to think, i thought Command was going to give me someone competent. Yet, no. They never do. I'm so sick of all this shit!"

"Oh for fucks sake D, i haven't fought in years" Felix stated, stretching.

Silence reigned. "Seriously, you could've just died. How are you so... chill about it?" She questioned.

"Listen bitch, i've faced death so much it doesn't really faze me anymore" He said shrugging. "I'd even call it an aqcuaintaince" He quipped.

Suprisingly, without any warning, she laughed. Like, not a full-on laugh but still a genuine laugh. It was the first time she had laughed at anything other then her own threatening jokes. "God, do i wish i had that attitude" She said honestly and took off her helmet, revealing long brown hair with a purple highlight. She looked at Felix, an actually pleasant smile creeping up on her lips. "I guess i can't blame you for being the one sent. I am the one that requested you personally..."

"Wait... you requested me personally?" Felix tilted his head to the side.

"Isn't it obvious?" She said matter-of-factly. "I saw a similarity between us. We both want revenge on our past enemies... on those who betrayed us. Despite what you might say about you're boyfriend, i know you had a close relationship. You definitely weren't happy when he left you. Well, you were more enraged then not-happy. I suffered similair. Agent Adelaide ran away with an A.I, Tasmania went missing, then Minnesota was shot..." She went on about other freelancers, none of which Felix recognised. "Soon the project was nothing more. Me, Alaska and Nebraska were the only ones left. Nebraskas A.I. Neon i think her name was was the only thing he cared about. Not us. He grew really attached to it. So much so, that when the A.I. was failing he..." She sighed. "Alaska became much more of a puppet then the best soldier we had that day"

"Wow, your life sounds just peachy" Felix said sarcastically.

Delaware chuckled at that. "Felix, i like ya. You're a sweet... kid. _Sorta_. Killing all those people drag you down a notch so i cant really call you sweet" She admitted.

Felix nodded. "I can understand that" He agreed. Then, he took off his helmet and examined it. "I thought you were dead" He mumbled to himself. Brushing off a little bit at the side, revealing a small plaque that was covered in dust reading; Isaac Gates. Star Army Soldier #34. "We **all** thought you were dead" He said, a little quieter this time.

"I know death doesn't stir you up" Delaware stated, snapping Felix back into reality. "I can see that in your eyes" She told. "But... what did stir you up in that fight? I was watching through the cameras. What shocked you? What shocked you about _her_?" She asked, looking at Felix coldly. He didn't say anything. "Felix, its either you tell me or i shoot you. I gave away all my personal shit. Explain" She demanded.

"Is that why you told me all about yourself?" He raised an eyebrow, smirking.

"Perhaps" She grinned.

"Quite the manipulator" He some-what complimented. "You should get into Telemarketing"

"Maybe i should" She replied jokingly. "But first, speak" She commanded. Her joke-filled tone becoming dark and gritty. Instantly making her a strong presence in the room. (Not like she wasn't already)

"Fine" Felix rolled his eyes. "Ever heard of the Star Army?

\---

"Ow! Dude, what the fuck!?" Church shouted, bouncing back as Tucker punched him across the face. "Seriously... wait, am i bleeding? Oh fuck. Yes. Yes i am" Church groaned. "What is with you and punching me recently? Is it like a trend now? The punch-Church trend?" He glared.

"Dude, why the fuck would you tell Wash the fact that i like him!?" Tucker screeched.

"The fact- oh! So you do like him?" Church said grinning.

"Wha- i..." Tucker facepalmed, trying to conceal his blush. "N-no! Hes a dick!"

"Wow Tucker. Never pictured you as a tsundere" Church smirked. "Maybe you and Aisaka Taiga should hang out. You two could complain about your crushes together"

"CHURCH! I WILL PUNCH YOU AGAIN, I SWEAR TO GOD!!" Tucker yelled at him. However, soon he beamed. Then he started laughing.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Do i have like- something in my face?" Church asked. "If so then really Tucker, thats like the shittiest of comedy. Take a comedy class dude"

"Nah... its just...pfffft" He began laughing again but stopped it when Church was staring at him angrilly. "Dude. You just proved you've been taking part in Simmons, Donut and Cabooses anime binge-watching sessions" Tucker said smirking. "When did ya start? As soon as i left?" Tucker raised an eyebrow. "Was it just when i left so you wouldn't have to go through this conversation about how you always said 'no! I'm not ever gonna watch it' and here you have?"

"Oh c'mon dude, you cant tease me for this" Church sighed. "After all you were in it for like three months!" Church reminded. "Why did you leave anyway?"

"Oh. Donut started putting on Slice-Of-Life Animes and you know me. I'm a Kill la kill kind of show kind of guy. Any chick wearing something as hot as that when she fights earns my respect" He informed.

Church stared at him, looking concerned. "Don't tell me Caboose was apart of those se-"

"Don't worry about it dude. We sent Caboose off to get popcorn when we watched it. 'Course, theres no popcorn in this canyon at the moment sooooo he wouldn't be back till' after it ended. Donut started feeling guilty that Caboose would come to the anime nights but never actually got to watch any anime. Hence as i said before he started doing more quote on quote age-appropiate animes. Or atleast ones that just barely didn't go over the line for Cabooses eyes to handle. I disagreed but Donut hosts the sessions. So then i left" Tucker stated.

"Oh" Church smiled and so did Tucker. They laughed a little. "Now that we're good can you take me to a hospital or someshit because i'm still bleeding"

"No way dude. You fucking deserved that punch!" Tucker growled.

"God damn it"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> -FanficNinja


	42. Chapter 41, When Love Is Felt For Someone

Grif sighed. He was staring at a picture of Kai and him. It was when she was nine and he was twelve. In the picture, they were at the beach. Their mums were holding surfboards and hugging them tightly as Kai and him ate their icecream. It was a nice photo. Well, if you forget the fact that the random stranger they had asked to take it soon after snapping the photo ran off with the expensive camera. Atleast they found him later... not through police but through one of Grifs mothers putting the guy in a headlock until he gave up. Good times. Grif hadn't seen his family in so long. He hadn't seen his mothers ever since he was drafted, and Kaikaina ever since they left Blood Gulch. Lopez may have killed her. Thats what Simmons has tried telling him. Yet, that can't be true. After all, they found no body. She couldn't be dead.

"What are ya doing numbnuts?"

Grif looked up to see Sarge. He groaned and placed the picture on his bedside table. Sarge examined it right before Grif turned over in his bed, not wanting to face the old hag. "Listen Sarge, i don't know if you've noticed but i am NOT in the mood for one of you're peptalks. Y'know, the ones where you boast about you're nonexistent successes and for some reason, kick me further into the dirt"

"Huh..." Sarge raised an eyebrow at Grif before looking back at the picture.

Grif turned around to face him, despite every inch of him saying that he'd regret it. "Okay, why are you still here?" Grif rolled his eyes. The old man gave him a sympathetic look. Grif didn't care though, he didn't believe that look even existed with Sarge. Since when was Sarge sympathetic? He never was to Grif anyway... Noticing Sarges eyes drifting slowly over to the picture Grif let out a grunt of annoyance. "Yeah, thats me and Kai. You probably don't want to look at it. Y'know, if what you said about your opinion on me having blood relations hasn't changed"

"Do you miss them?" Sarge asked. His voice soft.

"What kind of question is that!?" Grif snapped. Silence reigned and Sarge gave him a questioning glance.

"I don't know you just seem like the type who wouldn't give a damn" The commanding officer admitted.

"I'm not that much of a dick..." Grif told.

"Right" Sarge said sarcastically. "So, uh, you do care for 'em?"

"Yeah, of course i do. They're family. You stick close to family... or whatever you consider family at least. Well, you try and stick close to them until a fucking space war drafts you" The Hawaiian sat up.

Sarge chuckled. "You were drafted? Well, that explains some thin-"

"AND THEN you meet all these people and you befriend them, and you get another family and then they all die because guess what! You were on a doomed colony!" He layed back down, not even bothering to face Sarge. "And now you're here. With rejects and very few sane people and even fewer people you can actually like" He concluded, letting out an agrivated sigh before puffing up his pillow and resting his head against it. "And then you fall in love with one of them, and you don't know what to do... because... the last few times anyone good is there for you... they... they..." Grif clutched his pillow tightly.

"Huh" Sarge stared at the orange soldier. A look of... _guilt_ overcoming his face. He scratched the back of his neck before promptly leaving the room.

Grif cursed at himself for saying all that. Letting it tumble out. Infront of Sarge too! Now the old brute was going to make him regret that the next day. Probably calling him a pussy or something like that in typical 'Sarge Fashion'.

Then, to Grifs surprise Sarge returned clutching a few pictures in his hand. He also had some pieces of paper. He examined the papers before (for some reason) sighing and pushing them deep into his pockets. "Ey' Numbnuts. I wanna show you something"

Grif got up. "What is it? I'm trying to take a siesta" Sarge offered Grif the photos. Grif took them and looked at them. It was Sarge kissing a tall man. The man had brown hair with a blue highlight. "Okay, who the fuck is this?" Grif questioned, just wanting to get this over and done with.

"Heh, you really don't know?" Sarge stared. "Its Flowers"

"What!" Grif wen't wide-eyed. "No. No, no, no... that doesn't make sense... you were at war! Didn't he die?"

"Yes son, he did die and i miss him every day" Sarge informed. "But sometimes you've just gotta move on. Like you need to... with Kaikaina. Oh, and apparently more people from you're last squad that i just found out about" Sarge said, resting a hand on the younger mans shoulder. "I'm an old man Grif and we've been in this conflict for years. If i had moved on ages ago, i would have probably found someone. But, i didn't" He closed his eyes, probably because he was concentrating. Trying to find the right words to say. "Don't end up like me" He finished, getting up and beginning to walk out the door.

"Wait... so you admit you're old? And that you're not twenty-nine?" Grif said, finally giving a genuine smirked.

"Nah, i'm still twenty-nine! Twenty-nine long years in this war. Where the years actually matter!" Sarge boasted, saluting to seemingly nothing. He then lowered his hand and looked at Grif for a full minute before speaking up. "Also, if i were you? I'd tell Simmons i loved him before its too late" He winked, walking out.

Grif was silent. Silently stunned anyway. Sarge was right... about everything. Mainly about telling Simmons. Welp, if Grif was going to do it, he needed to do the one thing he hadn't done in years. Try.

\---

Tucker walked out of blue base, hands in his pockets. The first thing he saw was Donut who was bolting towards him. "Tucker! There you are! I'm so sorry!" The blonde called, Lopez following him.

"What dude? 'Eh whatever it is i don't really give a fuck. Hey, um is Doctor Grey still here by any chance? Church may be bleeding out of his eye... unconcious... no-one really knows why. Eh, fuck it. Yeah it was me" Tucker laughed a little.

Donut blinked. "W-what..? Tucker, thats-"

"Don't worry dude, i put a bandade on it" Tucker said shrugging.

[We have something more urgent to discuss idiot] Lopez glared.

"Hmm?" Tucker raised an eyebrow.

Donut took a deep breath. "Listen, Tucker. I'm _so_ sorry. It happened ages ago but i forgot that you liked h- i mean, i just forgot to tell you. When i remembered i ran here as fast as i could! I-its fine still... the healing units on but... i felt obligated to tell you and-

Tucker cut him off, placing his hand over the younger guys mouth. "Woah, calm down dude. Now tell me, what the fuck is going on?" Tucker asked, removing his hand.

Donut looked away, tears forming in his eyes. "Its... Wash, Tucker"

Tucker took a few steps back, staring in utter silence. "W-what?"

 


	43. Chapter 42, Truths Resonating

_"Carolina, what the fuck! Let me in!"_

_"Tucker, i can't. Hes extremely unstable. So are you too, it seems"_

_"Lina has a point Tucker"_

_"No, i'm going in there no matter what and none of you dudes can stop me. So better take the peaceful option or else, let. Me. In!"_

_"Fine"_

_"...wait. What?"_

_"Theres no point in trying to stop you. You'll still try and get in no matter what i say... and manage to get yourself hurt in the process. You may be brave Captain Tucker, but a fight against me? You dont stand a chance"_

_"Is that it..?"_

_"I suppose so. That and i know you really care about him. Right?"_

_"Yeah... yeah i do..."_

Wash opened one of his eyes, before closing it again tightly as a reflex to the booming white light above him. He waited a couple minutes before opening them again and looking around. He was in a hospital-like room. The same one that was on the airship, and the same one he had been in previously. "Augh... what... what happened?" Wash sat up, scratching his head.

"You were knocked out... again" Wash turned to see Tucker staring at him, concerned. "Second time this month"

"Tucker?" Wash raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah..." Tucker gave a weak smile, his eyes drifting away from the blonde. He was clearly avoiding eye contact. "Donut told me you got hurt by that dick, Jay" Tucker told. "The dude was unconcious. Got hit by one of the newcomers. Davy or something, i don't know his name. But that was after he shot you in the chest... good thing you had armor on. Heck, even better you had Yorks healing unit on. Otherwise, things wouldn't have ended so well for you..." Tucker informed. "Luckily he missed all the important stuff but..." Tucker trailed off.

Wash thought for a moment. "Jay..." He mumbled before clenching his fists. "...where is he now?" He said, looking up at Tucker. "You said he was unconcious?"

"Awake and in the other room" Tucker stated. "Carolina is trying to get some information out of him. Church too, atleast after he woke up from being unconcious. Oh! And Caboose is there too. He came because of Church"

"Huh..." Wash smiled, before becoming wide-eyed. "Wait, why was _Church_ unconcious?"

"Um... well... you see..." Tucker stuttered, nervous. "Caboose unpredictably got ahold of a _tank_... and accidentally shot Church... yeah, thats it!" Tucker beamed. Quite obviously lying.

"I thought we had no tank at the moment" Wash said deadpanned.

"I know dude, me too!" Tucker choked a little. "Thats why it was so unpredictable! I mean, if there _was_ already a tank it wouldn't be unpredictable because Caboose _always_ teamkills... in _tanks_... yeah..."

Wash rolled his eyes. "Okay, so what really happened?" Tucker looked away from him, fiddling with his hands. Wash thought back. _Wait_! He looked at Tucker. He knew what he was going to say would make the aqua soldier embarassed but... he just had to question it. "Tucker, is what Church said... _true_?" Tucker stayed silent. "About you... _liking_ me? In _that_ way?"

A silent moment passed between the two, before Tucker got up and did something Wash never could have expected. He lunged at him, kissing him. To Tuckers suprise, Wash started kissing back.

"Hey Tucker! Is Wash awa..." Tucker and Wash turned, stopping their kiss to see Donut watching them. Donuts shock soon became happiness and his face soon developed into a big goofy grin. Lopez, who was next to him though, was still in the shocked position. "Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!"  Donut cheered jumping up and down. "I knew it! Now countless of my fanfictions have become true reality! Can you believe it Lopez?"

[No. This is ridiculous. There is no way] Lopez was still staring at them. Honestly it made Wash and Tucker kind of uncomfortable. [Its just... but i thought Tucker was...]

Donut grabbed Lopez by the shoulders and shook him all around. "It doesn't matter anyway Lopez! Because Donut the matchmaker has done it again" Donut smirked, pulling a camera out of his pocket and taking a picture of the two, as they put their hands infront of their faces to shun their eyes from the bright flash. "This is so going in the scrapbook! What colour picture frame do you guys want?" Donut asked.

Wash gave a weak grin before chuckling a little awkwardly. "Um... Donut. I really appreciate what you're trying to do, for us-" He stopped as Donuts smile widened at the mention of _us_. "...but me and Tucker really need to tal-"

"Magenta? Nah. That doesn't suit your personalities. AT. ALL" Donut said shaking his head. "How about turquoise? Yeah? I knew you'd love it! I do have an eye for this sort of thing, or my name isn't Franklin. Delano. Donut!" Donut smiled, gleefully announcing the arguable truth. 

Tucker groaned. "Donut, dude. Please can you just-"

"I wonder what Sarge is going to say! I have to tell him! Two blues fratenising like this. Imagine if you two have kids! Oh wait, Sarge wont be too pleased to have blues procreating... will he? Though, that does increase the fun of it all really, it will be like... a _forbidden_ love!" Donut giggled. "Hmm..." He gasped. "New fanfiction idea!"

Wash looked at Lopez, his eyes desperate. "Lopez... can you..?"

[Say no more] Lopez shook his head sympathetically before dragging Donut out of the room, all while the pink soldier was still rambling on about shipping charts and other related topics. When he was out Tucker and Wash looked at eachother a moment.

"So... Wash, dude" Tucker bit his lip. "Do you wanna be like, a thing?"

Wash smiled. "I guess that would be nice"

\---

"Just tell me!" Carolina growled, throwing a table in her blind rage. A table Church attempted and failed to catch, luckilly enough Caboose caught it just fine. "How is Malcolm Hargrove alive? We. Killed. Him"  She spat every one of those last words.

Jay sighed. "I'm telling you Caroli..." He smiled nervously when she nearly punched him in the eye for directly calling her that. "...Miss, i don't know how he survived. I'm not in a high enough rank to know that kind of thing. The only person who knew stuff like that was the pilot of his get-away ship. Not me"

"BUT according to these files Mr. Jay Church you had a romantic relationship with this pilot. Did she seriously not tell you anything?" Carolina questioned.

"Yeah! She always did keep her secrets. Wouldn't tell me where she would go sometimes too. It was a weird kind of relationship" Jays eyes darted left and right.

"Know how that feels..." Church mumbled.

"Still, you have **GOT** to know something" Carolina hissed. "I'm giving you one last chance, tell me something. Anything. Or you are not gonna like what happens next"

Jay leaned forward crossing his arms. A curious smile creeping up on his lips. "Like what?"

Carolina punched the wall, creating a small crack. "Don't be a smart-ass. **Talk** " Silence reigned. She took a deep breath and began walking out. "Detain him. He'll talk eventually. Without food does make people rather desperate" She smirked sinisterly.

"Detain him..?" Church laughed. "This isn't like-" Carolina shot him a cold glare, making him shut up. He saluted weakly before rummaging through the cupboards trying to find something to detain him. "R-right away Sis!"

As Carolina left and Church found some handcuffs which he began using on Jay, Jay chuckled a little. Looking at Caboose and Church. "I'm not going to talk, you know that right? I'm not like that" He told.

"Then what are you like?" Caboose asked, legitimately interested.

"A bad-ass" Jay replied bluntly.

"Heh, sure..." Church rolled his eyes. "I would like to see that..."

"Oh, you will" Jay smiled rather sinisterly. "Just give me some time..."

\---

Felicia looked at the note Locus had sent her.

'This note confirms that your son, Isaac [Felix] Gates has died while trying to illegally kill the citizens of Chorus. You have been excused from any punishment because there has been no evidence that you have been involved or knew of the existance of the illegal action being commited by your son. We must say it is rather unfortunate that your son has died, as we highly believe he would have been better suited to have been reformed then killed. As we send you this, we will also add a progress report on your other son and daughter. Your daughter has been promoted and your other son has been shot but is recovering quickly. Yours sincerely, Federation Of Chorus.'

Felicia crumpled up the note and tossed it in the trash. She sighed.

"My son is not dead... i can feel it" She looked away to see her old armor pinned to the wall. "And i'm gonna go and prove it"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heres something you may not have realised. Jay has been said to be the directors nephew... Carolinas the directors daughter, so that means...
> 
> Heh, looks like Mackenzie and Caboose aren't the only unexpected cousins in this story! :)
> 
> Thanks for reading and please leave a comment!
> 
> -FanficNinja


	44. Chapter 43, Coming Back As The Sun Rises

Grif looked up at the stars. He always liked coming up here, to the roof of the base. It was quiet. Worked as a nice spot for a while too to take a nap! That was until the blues got a tank... and he realised perhaps it wasn't the best decision to sleep up there completely defenseless and basically passed out. A shame too, it was surprisingly comfortable. Grifs bed was nice but there would be times where Sarge would put something unpleasant there to spook him, like the time he put an actual bat on it. God knows where he found it but Simmons wasn't happy either. They did share a room after all, and the bat had no problem flying from Grifs bed to dive onto Simmons one. Ah, to think its been years since then...

"Hey Grif, what are you doing here... _awake_?" Simmons asked as he made it to the rooftop.

"'Eh, just... watching the stars" Grif replied.

"Oh. Never pictured you would enjoy that kind of thing" Simmons stated honestly.

"I don't" Grif told, showing off a bottle of wine that was half-empty. Presumably that way because of Grif. "Theres not really anything else i can do..."

"Um, usually i don't have to remind you this but we have a television now Grif..." Simmons reminded. "And a couple videogames, a milkshake machine and i'm pretty sure theres even a copy of Die Hard somewhere too" Simmons informed. "But you know about all of that anyways, its not like you to pick the easiar option... _AND_ i just realised how stupid knowing **you,** that sounded in my head"

Grif snorted. "Nice words there, private kiss-ass"

Simmons rolled his eyes. He sighed. "Well, i think i'm going to go back down. My sister sent me a letter and i've gotta read that so i can reply with a well-written and friendly letter back. You know?" Simmons said, only mildy aware that he had no need to phrase it like he was writing a letter to the king. Either way, he began to walk back down.

Grif tightened his grip on the wine bottle. Thinking hard about his choices of words to come. "Hey Simmons... can you uh, stay a _little_ bit longer? I need to talk to you" Grif said, nervously. Simmons shrugged and nodded, taking a seat next to the orange soldier. "Have i, uh, ever told you about my last squad?"

Simmons raised an eyebrow. "No. Wait, you didn't have a squad before us! We were both in training at the exact same time... and based on that training got placed here. How does that-"

"Simmons, just listen to me. I'll explain" Grif stated. Simmons gave a weak smile at his almost descent into rambling then. "You see, i was apart of this colony right? It was me, and four others. Greens, Lucas, DoubleO2 and Cola. It was kinda peaceful there. But then, out of nowhere fucking aliens! I was asleep at my post so i guess they just figured i was already dead. When i came to, i was at Command. They told me everyone else had gotten killed. They said that there were no colonies willing to take me, so all they could do was send me back to basic training until i graduated again and a place would open up by then" He informed. "They were all my friends... Simmons..."

"Oh. I had no idea that you had to face that. That must have been hard... dealing with it all" Simmons thought out loud. He scratched the back of his neck akwardly. "Um, not to be rude or anything really, but... why are you telling me this?"

"Because Simmons, i haven't told anyone about that before. Well, intentionally i haven't. I wanted to tell you that because... i want to prove to you that i'm not joking i guess. Atleast when i say, Simmons, you see... the thing is... i, uh..." He stuttered. "I think i love you, Simmons"

"What?" Simmons voice was confused, scared and happy all at once. "Wha- what did you say?"

"I said that... i think i... love you Simmons... like, not mutual love but... i think i love love you Simmons" Grif repeated himself. "Say what you want about it. I don't give a fuck. ' _You're an idiot'_ or ' _You can't be serious_ ' and all that. Come on, i'm waiting..." Silence reigned. Grifs voice almost sounded annoyed. Not at Simmons, but at himself. I'm such an idiot. He was thinking. Good job Dexter Grif! You've just fucked up your friendship with Simmons! He took a swig of his wine bottle. "Still waiting..." Okay, now he was just getting impatient. Did Simmons really have to keep waiting before he inevitably denied him and his affections?

"N-no Grif, i..." Here it comes. Grif prepared himself. "It okay..." Simmons gave a weak smile. Well, Grif wasn't expecting that. "I think i love you too, _that_ way. I have loved you... t-that way..." Simmons told.

"Really?" Grif was smiling brightly.

"Y-yeah" He beamed though it quickly became a frown. "I mean, no. No. I... i, uh... i don't. I can't. I um..." He tried to retrack his steps but it was too late. What was said couldn't be taken back. "I can't, but i... hes not here but... somehow, i c-can feel it, he'd..." Simmons without any warning, collapsed onto the floor wrapping himself in a tiny ball. He was crying. "I... n-no, but i d-do...yet i..."

"Simmons, dude? Are you okay?" Grif asked concerned, resting a hand on the younger mans shoulders.

Simmons was still, his eyes wide with fear for something... or someone. "What would he think?" He whispered to himself, not giving Grif the curtosy of a glance. "He'd probably hate me..." Simmons was confused. Why was he letting himself be bothered by _him_ about this? He tried to confess before. He _wanted_ this. Why was he..? Simmons tried to control his breathing. He was failing.

"Simmons, its okay" Grif wrapped the younger man in a hug. It felt... _nice_. "Whats wrong? Dude?"

Simmons looked at Grif, wiping away his tears. "N-nothing, i'm fine" He leant against Grif, smiling. "Its fine. I can handle it... i just..."

"Hey, how about we just watch the sunrise together or something?" Grif asked. "So you can calm down?" He added, smiling. Simmons nodded weakly. "Okay... okay..." Grif said, taking a deep breath. As the sun rose Grif could've sworn Simmons nearly choked up at some points. He was after all on the verge of tears. Grif had no idea why though. Something must've clicked in Simmons mind for him to react like that.

When the sun nearly came all the way up, Simmons sighed. "I... i..." He sniffled a little, confirming he was still crying. "I... i'm sorry... that i re-reacted that way... Grif, i was... i was just..."

"Nah dude, _shhhh_ " Grif interrupted. "Its fine. Just, rest..." Grif kinda regretted shutting Simmons up. He knew that Simmons probably would've told him why he acted like that and that interested Grif. Still, curiosity wasn't the motive of Grifs mind. Relaxation was. So, just relax. Soon Simmons fell asleep, probably stayed up all night listening to Sarge or doing extra work. Grif for the first time, didn't fall asleep. He just smiled and savoured the moment.

He wouldn't say, but he was disapointed when Simmons woke up and had to go report to Sarge.

\---

* **CRASH** *

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Arizona bashed the horn on the airship over and over again, creating a loud and annoying noise. "I. Am. Not. A. Bad. Driver. So. Why. Does. This. Keep. HAPPENING!" She screeched. North came up to her sighing and gave her a look that basically screamed 'did you crash the ship?' And in truth, he was going to ask her that question but Arizona was too angry to let him start. "Yes. The ships crashed! How do you feel? Annoyed? Think about how I feel. I AM NOT A BAD DRIVER!" She stated, frustrated.

"I know you're not... ish. But thats not what i want to know. Where have we crashed?" He asked, actually curious. "We might have landed in a place with a lot of supplies and stuff!" He gave a smile, trying to make the most out of the situation.

"Oh right!" She smirked. "Didn't check that... lets see... hmm... we are at- uhhh" Arizona clenched her fists and banged her head this time into the horn over and over again. "Motherfucker!" She then stopped, looked over at North and tried to conceal how much her head hurted. "We're in Blood Gulch"

Hawaii who had just walked into the pilots room smiled. "Oh! I remember this place! Wasn't it the one with the movie theatre?" She asked.

"No"

"Water-slides?"

"No"

"Vanilla cupcakes?"

"NO"

"Man, i wish" Denmark said, walking into the room holding a strange looking book. "But they did have pancakes in chapter four. Delicious, too. We could always ask for that..." They all looked at him confused. "What? It was in this book, what are the chances!" He showed off the book, but Arizona grabbed it and threw it out the window. "Hey! That joke fell flat. Flatter then a pancake... badum chhs" He winked at... _you_?

"Hey, whats happening in here?" Sister asked, jumping into the room.

"Okay, is everyone just going to come in here?" Arizona questioned annoyed.

"I don't know. I thought something dirty was happening in here. I was gonna hop on! Hey, Blood Gulch right? Augh sweet, i can go back to blue base and collect all the shit i forgot!" She announced, running out of the aircraft before anyone could stop her. She made it to blue base and tried to enter but it was locked. She banged on the door hoping it would fall down. "What the heck?! Open up door!" She yelled.

To her shock, it opened revealing Church. He was wearing a dirty shirt and boxers. His hair was messy, hintimg at the fact he had just woken up. He was rubbing his eyes, so he was unable to see who it was. "Okay reds if its you who are banging on OUR FUCKING DOooo... Sister?" He went wide-eyed. "How is this possible?"

"Grey dude?" She tilted her head to the side. Why was he here? Wait, if he was here then maybe...

...maybe Grif was here too!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Simmons was confused. Why was he letting himself be bothered by him about this?'
> 
> As much as i want to keep it a secret until later, i'm pretty sure if you guys have read any simmons fanfic ever you'll know who that is XD. Seriously, i haven't read any fics were 'he' is good. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and please leave a comment!
> 
> -FanficNinja


	45. Chapter 44, Loving Another And Hating Self

"Okay reds if its you who are banging on OUR FUCKING DOooo... Sister?" Church went wide-eyed. "How is this possible?" He questioned, not believing for a second this was really her. After all, she had died. Been killed by Lopez to be more precise. There was no way this was her. It was impossible.

"Grey dude?" She tilted her head to the side. Questioning. It was hard for her to tell what color he was, but ages ago Grif had taught her what each shade of blue team was in actuality. Suddenly, she looked at Church as though a realisation had popped into her head after mere seconds of thinking. She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "Hey dumb guy! Is Grif here?" She asked excitedly. Church nodded. She smiled brightly and let go of him, running off to red base at the fasted Church had ever seen her go. She could even rival Tex in sprints if that was her full-speed! Though, that was an opinion Church would keep to himself. God knows what Tex would say...

"Hey Church" Speak of the devil. Church turned to see Tex standing behind him. She was wearing a black shirt with camo-pants and her blonde hair was tied up in a ponytail. She looked nervous, and that was a look very few got to see. However Church had seen that look multiple times. It didn't shock him anymore, really. If you didn't feel fear, you weren't really human now were you?

"Hey Tex, mind telling me how you got into blue base? Besides the front door..." Church added, smirking.

"Jeez idiot..." She smiled at him. "I came through the backdoor"

"Oh... right. I forgot we had one of those" Church said akwardly. "At... blue base" He stared at her, confused. "Still, that doesn't excuse you coming in without knocking on the door or something. I mean, really Tex? I'm getting some serious stalker vibes here" Church grinned at her.

"Well, maybe i am" She laughed a little. "Church..." Her voice became cold and concerned. "I'm sorry about forcing you into a relationship before..."

"What?" Church went wide-eyed. "What are you talking about Tex?"

"Church, i know you didn't send me that note. Mackenzie told me it was Tucker soon after. I asked him about it, and i _swear_ i would have usually punched him in the face for doing a stunt like that, but i didn't. You wanna know why Church?" She looked at him, sighing. Church stayed silent. "Because he explained that he _knew_ you. That you were his friend and he could tell you didn't love me anymore" Tex informed. Church tried to interject but she kept going. "Then i started paying attention to the way you acted, thinking that fucker couldn't possibly get it right... but, seeing you here. Looking after Caboose i realised, you don't love me anymore and with good reason. Instead, you love somebody else and i'm holding you back..."

"No Tex, thats not tru- wait, i love someone else?" Church scoffed. "Yeah right! You may be a bitch Tex, but you're the bitch i fell in love with" He chuckled, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Who else could i possibly love?"

"Caboose" She answered firmly.

 _"WHAT!?"_ Church shrieked. He couldn't believe this. Tex believed that he WAS IN LOVE WITH CABOOSE? He could not for the life of him comprehend how she could come to this conclusion. It was ridiculous. But soon, he started blushing and he didn't know why. Breathing in and out, Church tried to keep his composure. When he finally got a hold of himself, he gave an akward cough. "I... i don't love Caboose, Tex"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes you do"

"No Tex, no i don't" He stated looking her right in the eyes. "I love _you_..."

"Hmph" Tex sighed, agrivated. "At first, i thought you were just embarassed about telling me. Now i see you're just too much of an idiot to understand your own feelings..." She told, letting out a forced laugh. "Fine. I believe you. Quick thing though!" She raised a hand to shush any arguments or questions Church was about to say. "Whats Cabooses favourite flavour of ice-cream?"

"Mint-Chocolate" He replied almost instantly.

"Whats mine?" She gave him a knowing glance.

"Well its... its... uh..." He stuttered. "....its vanilla, right?"

"Strawberry" She informed. "Church, we all have ways of expressing love. Caboose expresses it by trying to do nice things, York does it by constantly reminding who he loves that he loves them, Tucker expresses his love... _rather disgustingly_ and you, Church. You do it by remembering everything about them to prove to them that you listen to their problems. Its sweet, but heres the thing... if you don't love someone you don't listen. You feel no need to, and thats where i've got you caught"

"Thats not true..." Church weakly argued.

"Don't lie to me Leonard" She groaned. "You love Caboose and i know it. Its either you tell him, or i do" She informed before walking off. Church watched her as she walked away, stunned. He originally came to the conclusion not to tell him, after all it wasn't true, and that Tex wouldn't dare but... unlike Mackenzie where he knew very little about her he knew a lot about Tex. She wasn't joking around. Church gulped. This was going to be a long day.

\---

Sarge sat on his bed, feeling guilty. He looked at his bedside table and opened the last drawer. He pulled out a couple unopen letters. All intended for the same person. He never felt at any point in his life that he'd feel bad for keeping them but here he was, feeling bad. More then bad actually, he felt like scum and that was a feeling he used to think was just for enemy soldiers, and blues and... Grif. The cause for the pain he was feeling now. At any other point in his life he would blame Grif for his unintentional giving of pain to him but now he knew that it wasn't the orange soldiers fault. It was himself that should take all the blame.

He began opening one. When he got the letter out he read it.

_Hey Dexey!!!_

_So, whats it like being apart of this cool military-like complex? Is it fun? Have you met any friends? Any love interests? Lets hope so. I packed you some oreos, a couple biscuits, some chocolate chip cookies, some ice-cream sandwiches and many other wonderful goodies! I hope you like 'em. After all you always said my food was the best! Even if i got it from the store._

_Oh! And I've got great news! You know how honey works at the circus? And how you never told you're friends because you told us you'd sky-rocket into popularity because of how great she was? Well... NOW YOU CAN'T TELL THEM CAUSE YOU'LL EXPLODE YOU'LL BE THAT POPULAR!_

_Thats right, she was promoted. Now she doesn't have to wear a beard or put all those pillows under her shirt anymore. Shes now the host! Wearing that little tophat too. Also my bakerys going well. Anyways, i've got to go. Tell Kai i said hello and maybe Honey will send you a letter later too. I'm basically begging her to do it..._

_Love you- Mum._

Sarge groaned. What Grif would do if he found out about this. Sarge opened another letter. This one was from his other mum. He began to read it.

_Hey Dexter,_

_Sweeties been begging me to do this. You know how she can get, but i do love her; wouldn't have had kids if i didn't end up with her so i dated into this really. I don't know what to say Dex. I really miss you. She misses ya too. She spent hours writing that letter. Anyways, i hope you stay strong. If anyone messes with you, don't give a crap. That way they think they're not in trouble. But when i find 'em, well... i'm gonna kill them._

_So, do they have any nice beds over there? I'd presume not._ _You **are** a grif... me and you always find a place to sleep. Listen, ever since Command told us you were moved because an accident that occured at you're old place, **aliens or something,** you haven't send us any letters back. Is something wrong? Are you okay?_

_I'm worried about you..._

_Love you, Ma._

Even with two Sarge didn't think he could read anymore. He snuck out of his room and placed them in the trash, hiding them under what was already in there. He snuck back into his room, and quietly shut the door. Donut and Lopez seeing all this unfold walked up to the bin. " _Oooh_ , what kind of secrets does Sarge have! Lets find out!" Donut grinned, shuffling through the trash.

Lopez facepalmed. [Are you really doing thi-]

"Found it!" Donut announced, reading one of the letters. "Its a... its a... oh no..." Donut covered his mouth in shock. "Lopez, where is Grif?"

Lopez raised an eyebrow. [In his room with Simmons. Should we really interrupt? It seems like they're discussing something importa-]

"Lets go!" Donut said, grabbing Lopezs arm and running to Grifs room. "This is something he needs to know about!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah Grifs mums. Just for the record they are the same ones i'm using for Back To Hawaii. I'm sure you can tell which one Grif got his laid-back attitude from and the other his obsession with food just from the letters. ;) Also shoutout to who can tell which letters from Kira and the other Kate.
> 
> Thanks for reading and please comment!
> 
> -FanficNinja


	46. Chapter 45, 'You've Finally Broken Us'

"Lets go!" Donut said, grabbing Lopezs arm and running to Grifs room. "This is something he needs to know about!" Donut finally made it to Grifs room, slamming the door open. "Grif! Are you still in here!?" He asked loudly. In the room were two beds. Simmons was sitting on one on his laptop and Grif was on the other, sleeping. "GRIF, WAKE UP!!!" Donut screamed, shaking Grif as he slept.

Grifs eyes opened and he jumped in response to the unexpected yelling. "Donut? What the fuck dude! Can i not get a little shut-eye anymore? You had no problem back when we were actually doing work. Now isn't that ironic?" He laughed a little. Yet, when he was finished he still chose to glare at Donut. "Now this better be good or i'm no longer letting you use my popcorn for you're anime nights or whatever"

"G-Grif... you _aren't_ gonna like this..." Donut sadly announced.

Simmons looked up at them. "What is it?" He questioned, genuinely curious.

Donut sighed and handed Grif the crumpled up letters. Grif raised an eyebrow. "You want me to _read_? Yeah, i was right. Waking up for this wasn't worth it" Grif said handing Donut the letter back, he started to lay back down. He was stopped though when Simmons walked up, got handed the letter by Donut and read it quietly to himself.

"Actually Grif... you uh..." Simmons stuttered. Grif stared at him. "Maybe you should... read this..."

"Fine" He rolled his eyes and took the note off of Simmons. He read it. The room went dead quiet. "Where did you get this Donut?" Grif said flatly.

"I... saw Sarge..." Donut began nervously. "He... he threw it in the trash"

" _Sarge_?" Simmons couldn't believe it.

"Thats it" Grif got up and walked out of his room. Donut, Lopez and Simmons followed him. Grif was enraged. When he made it to Sarges door he knocked on it loudly. "I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE SARGE. OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR RIGHT NOW!" Grif shouted. The three behind him stepped back. They had never seen Grif this mad.

Sarge opened the door. "What is it dirtba-" He shut up when he noticed what Grif was holding.

"I knew you hated me, but **what the fuck**!?" Grif shouted at the older man. "I get that i can be lazy, i get that sometimes i dont do work, i get that i do a lot of things wrong BUT... BUT THIS IS FAMILY!" He yelled again. "Just the other day you were talking about how sad it is to lose someone. Just the other day you saw me moping and YOU KNEW ABOUT THESE!? AND REFUSED TO GIVE THEM TO ME!?" Grif said, his eyes tearing up.

"Grif, i'm sure he had a good reas-" Simmons rested a hand on Grifs shoulder but was pushed away.

"No Simmons!" Grif retaliated. "I am sick of you defending him and being an absolute kiss-ass!" He sighed. "Listen Simmons, you go out of you're way for this guy and what does he do in return? Nothing. He takes advantage of you, he calls your ideas stupid and then rips them off mere seconds later, he takes credit for everything you do!" Grif counted all the deeds with his hand. "He always says that he deserves more respect but never gives you any recognition for all of the shit you do for him!" Grif told, frustrated.

"T-that is... true..." Simmons admitted. Sarge wen't wide-eyed.

"Infact, he never cares for whatever we do for him!" Grif stated. "Donut you listen to him and what has he ever done in return? Nothing. He just criticizes you and doesn't listen to any of your important warnings when hes gone off and said some stupid idea! And me, i admit i'm not the best soldier but i've come to expect from Sarge that if i ever do capture the flag, if i ever do something nice for him he'll still call me a fat-ass and not even care, why do you think i choose not to try at all? AND LOPEZ, i may not speak spanish but i can figure out that you're done with this guy aswell" Grif informed. "Thats it..." He began walking off.

"Where are you going?" Donut asked.

"Blue base. I'm changing teams" Grif replied angrilly.

"W-well!" Simmons took a long look at Sarge before walking after Grif. "I'll... come with you"

"Me too!" Donut gleefully announced, though many could see he was still sad inside.

[The fat idiot has a point] Lopez nodded. [I'm going to leave too]

"Oh c'mon red team!" Sarge shook his head. "This is just one thing!" He argued.

"No its not. Its for everything. Sorry to say this Sarge, but we're done. You've finally broken us" Grif clenched his fists, annoyed.

"You don't need to leave. Are you really going to abandon the glorious red team over one little thing such as this? Are you really going to listen to Grif of all...." Sarge paused. "I mean, listen. I do feel bad over what i did but come on. Donut?" Sarge looked at the pink soldier. "You can't really leave? What about the whole light-ish red thing. You're colour and all that"

"Sorry Sarge, but i'm through" Donut sadly told.

"Lopez? I built you! I'm basically your pops!" Sarge informed. "You can't leave"

[Yes. Yes i can. I am sick of following you're command. Do you know how many times i've lost my body because you went off and did something stupid? I'm done] Lopez said, turning away.

"S-Simmons, not you too!" Sarge looked at the Maroon soldier.

"I'm sorry Sarge but... i just..." Simmons started crying a little, as a realisation popped into his head. "You called on me _last_ " He looked down. Sarge was about to interject but Simmons kept going. "I'm really sorry si- _i'm_ sorry. I'm going with Grif" Simmons told. They walked out of red base one by one.

Sarge watched them leave. He frowned. "Well... looks like i'm gonna have to change something about my 'non-existent failures' then"

\---

"Caboose. What are you doing?" Church asked smirking.

"Tex told me that you had something you wanted to tell me!" Caboose beamed.

Church bit his lip. "Oh. She did?"

"Yeah! And she said it was important! Super only best friends can know important!" The blonde happily told.

"Right. Listen Caboose, Tex is just a little confused right now" Church said nervously.

"Oh. So theres nothing you want to tell me...?" Caboose tilted his head to the side.

A silent moment passed between the two. "Yeah. Nothing at all" Church told. "Nothing at-"

The door slammed open and inside walked Grif, Donut, Lopez and Simmons. "Hey blues! Are any of you in here!?" Grif called out. "Anyone?"

"Yeah" Church replied, his tone a little annoyed at the sudden interruption. "What the fuck are you guys doing here?" He questioned.

"How do you feel about us joining your team?" Donut asked, smiling weakly. Church and Caboose stayed quiet before Church finally spoke up.

"I'd say 'fine motherfuckers but you're sleeping on the couch'"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was sad, i know. Don't worry the next one will be a lot happier! :D
> 
> -FanficNinja


	47. Chapter 46, From Sadness To Heck Yeah!

Mackenzie and Smith made it to blue base. Mackenzie sighed. "To think, we went all that wicked whale way and came back with nothing. I shouldn't have counted" She stated, mad at herself. Smith looked at her with concern. "I should have just shot him" She clenched her fists. "Then and there, no second thoughts. Now hes gotten away with it. What hes done. To Caboose! To me-"

She stopped talking as Smith rested a hand on her shoulder. "Pardon me for interrupting m'am but... what did Felix do to _you_?"

Mackenzie turned away from him. "Not important" She replied. He frowned. Noticing that, Mackenzie looked at him once more smiling weakly. "Oh don't worry about it hun. Maybe i'll... tell ya later? When we're better friends" She told. Smith nodded at her. "Now, lets go inside. I think Cabby might be awake by now!" She gleefully whispered as she opened blue bases door. It was night-time, so they didn't expect anyone to be awake. Even thought they were right about that what they did see was still a weird and unexpected sight. "Well, this was quite unexpected. What are they doing here?" She said, looking at the lounge room where all of red team was sleeping

Smith shrugged. "I don't know m'am"

"Huh" She smirked, rolling her eyes sweetly. Trying not to wake them she tiptoed over some blankets and cushions and picked up Simmons laptop from the floor. She saved what he had been working on and turned it off. Then, she picked up an empty packet of chips located near Grif before promptly putting it in the bin. She took one final scan around the room before going over to Donut and putting one of the blankets over him, as he had quiet clearly had his stolen from Grif. "There" She whispered, walking back over to Smith. She looked at them all once more. "Ah. They're all so adorable!"

"That was... kind of you m'am" Smith commented honestly.

"Thanks" Mackenzie laughed. "But really hun, i can't help myself. Whenever Cabby had sleepovers i'd always have to step in and clean after his mess when he fell asleep. All his friends messes too" She told. "I didn't really mind though. Cabby had sleepovers all the time so i kinda got used to it. Besides, i like helping him" She smiled brightly, turning over to face Smith. "It might not seem like it to... well, anyone but Caboose did have friends in school. Three, if i remember correctly. Its just..." She paused. "They all kinda, grew up and moved on. I guess Caboose really didn't. He hasn't even changed. They all tried to catch up with him every once in a while but then he was drafted... i know they were sad. Very infact. Haven't heard from them since" Mackenzie informed, sorrowfully. "Smith, do you know why i became a soldier?" She asked.

"W-Why m'am?" Smith turned towards her.

"Because i felt that somewhere... _somewhere_... if i got to a high enough position, if i keep moving bases, taking every oppurtunity that flies by i..." She stayed quiet for a moment. "I might find him... _Caboose_. Cousin. Where he landed. Whats his life like now. How he's been!" She smiled weakly. "And if he finally grew up..." She then beamed, a genuine smile creeping up in her lips. "And he _has_. Some might not see it, but i can. Hes grown up! And i've found him. I've found him with friends. Some might say family and... well, someone he _loves_ " She beamed. "I might not have found my happy ending, but he sure has and really? Thats all that matters"

Smith smiled at her. "You really are the kindest m'am-?" He stopped as she held his hand, making him blush. She tightened her grip on his hand and looked at him, the happiest he'd ever seen her.

"You've been calling me that all day hun" She said, chuckling. "Please, call me Mackenzie"

"R-right m'a-" Smith stopped himself. "Right Mackenzie"

A long but pleasant silence passed between the two, however they were interrupted when the door slammed open causing all of red team to wake up. "Dudes, we're back! Whats going o-what the fuck?" Tucker interrupted his own sentence as he looked at red team who were all yawning and glaring at him. "What are you fucktards doing here?" He asked, presuming they were up to no good.

"Well, we were sleeping" Grif groaned. "But you can tell we're not doing that anymore" He said, annoyed.

"Though i didn't support Tucker barging in the way he did, he does bring up a valid point" Wash interjected. "What are you guys doing here? Why aren't you at red base?"

[Simple. We were done with Sarges shit so we switched teams. About time in my opinion. Now that i think about it i should have done this earliar. I could've been with Shiela longer] Lopez answered.

"Oh c'mon Lopez, no-one cared about that cow" Donut said, way too cheerful. He then turned to once more glare at Tucker. "Seriously Tucker, i need my beauty rest. I can't pull off light-ish red with bags under my eyes" Wash was about to interrupt to say something along the lines of 'you can't see your eyes through your helmet' but Donut kept going. "Then again, i am blue now. Ugh, this means a whole new color palet for me" There was a long silence. Donut kept his hand on his chin, thinking. "Do you have any armor in a Periwinkle shade?"

"Wait, slow down" Tucker couldn't believe this. "You're blue now!?"

[Si. We were finally done with the old mans crap] Lopez told.

"CAN SOMEONE ANSWER US WHO DOESN'T SPEAK SPANISH!?" Tucker snapped.

[Racist] Lopez glared.

"We were done with Sarges whining so we changed teams" Grif informed. "Church said we could sleep on the couch. It was too small so we made an agreement. Lopez takes the couch 'cause hes programmed to only sleep on a surface like that, i'll sleep on the floor 'cause i can sleep pretty much anywhere, Donut takes the armchair and Simmons goes on the beanbag because blah blah its perfect for sitting blah blah laptop blah" Grif mocked, which earned him a priceless death stare from Simmons.

"CHURCH AGREED TO ALL THIS!?" Tucker said shocked.

As if on cue, Church came around the corner with a baseball bat. "Okay, if this is any of you reds who are shouting i'm kicking you out. Seriously, i'm trying to get some shut-eye" Church lowered the baseball bat when he saw Tucker. "Tucker!? You're back already!?"

"Yeah, and i see you've already replaced me" Tucker retaliated. "I mean really, what the fuck!?"

"In my defense, it wasn't straight after you left. You guys still hold that particular medal" Church said, his eyes drifting over to Wash.

"Church" Said Caboose, who had been hiding behind the older man. "Is everything good?"

"Yeah, yeah. Everythings fine" Church told, dropping his weapon.

Caboose smiled and came out from behind him, looking around. After seeing Mackenzie he ran and hugged her. "Cousin! Where have you been? Oh my god you've missed so much" He told, basically hopping with joy. Mackenzie, glad someone finally acknowledged her and Smith hugged him back. Caboose stopped hugging her though and waved at Smith. "Hey Smith! Where were you? Was there some secret friend thing going on you did without me!" He frowned, pouting.

"N-no sir. Not at all!" Smith smiled weakly, fighting off all of his captains questions before then paying attention to what had been happening around them and of course, they were all fighting.

Tucker had furrowed his brows at Church. "Dude, don't turn this around on me" He growled.

"I CAN AND I WILL!" Church stated, almost like a child.

"Could you guys please shut up!?" Grif yelled at them, frustrated. "I'm trying to get back to sleep!"

"Sleep is all you care about fat-ass!" Simmons quipped.

[I just remembered why i don't like any of you assholes] Lopez told, covering his head with a pillow trying to block out all the sound. [Its not working] He sighed in defeat.

"Please everyone, you're tearing this family apart!" Donut screamed sadly.

"Oh for gods sake Donut! We're not some family like from the braidy bunch!!!" Grif argued.

"We could be, you guys just don't understand!" Donut shouted back.

"Oh my god! Its like all of the canyons bickering squished into one room. If only someone had asked someone before inviting them all in!" Tucker told matter-of-factly looking over at Church.

"SERIOUSLY WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING!?" Wash shouted.

Caboose hearing what Wash had said began following suit. "I two would like to know what the-" Mackenzie covered his mouth before he could swear. She then made a loud whistle, which surprisingly shut up the whole room. She removed her hand from Cabooses mouth. "Hmm?" He tilted his head to the side.

Now that everyone was looking at her Mackenzie put her hands on her hips. "Alright everyone, there is no need for fighting. All of ya are just a little rainbow rattled" She informed. "Listen, Caboose!" He perked up at his name. "Go to your room please. Simmons, you're a real stickler for the rules right??"

"U-ugh... yes?" He said honestly. His voice squeaky after not expecting to have his attention be caught by a girl in mere seconds of waking up.

"Really?" She questioned. "With that hair ah' would've taken ya for a goth!" He stared at her. "Okay then. Go with Caboose" She instructed. Simmons (unsure of what was going on) followed her orders. Mackenzie took a look around the room. "Wash! Age!" She asked quickly.

"Wait, what are we-" He paused when she gave him a cold and awaiting stare. "Twenty-one!"

"No way" She shook her head. "Real age?"

Wash, looking ashamed turned away from Tucker. "Twenty-nine" Tucker went wide-eyed.

"There we go!" She clapped excitedly. "Donut!?" He turned to look at her. "Age?"

"Twenty!" He beamed. "Fresh and ready for riding!"

"No riding for you! And twenty? Jesus, you came when you were about-what, fifteen? Unbelievable" She commented. "Either way, room now!" Mackenzie demanded.

"Awww..." Donut looked down, walking over to Cabooses room. "We don't even have a horse. Why did i even ask?"

"Lopez!" Mackenzie snapped. They were all expecting her to say age but she broke expectations. "Please... go supervise them" She asked kindly. He groaned and got up, walking to where they all were. "Smith, twenty-one?" Silence. "Over?" He nodded. "Alright then! And..." She took one final look around the room. "Well, you all look the part so here we go!" She grinned.

Wash raised a hand. "Um, Mackenzie if you don't mind me asking what are we doing?"

"Good question Agent _Whatshisface_. It just seemed like ya'll have been rather tense and like ya haven't had a good time in frozen forever!" She told. "So, i've come up with a solution!" She went over to the kitchen and opened up a certain drawer, revealing tons of bottles. All full of wine or other alcoholic beverages. "Lets have some fun!"

All of them (with some exceptions) licked their lips excitedly. Grif being the one to speak up first. "Okay lady, you are one of my favourite kinds of people" He told honestly.

"Glad ya think so" She grinned. "And hopefully by the end of it, this will be one of your favourite nights... ever-"

"Of all time" Tucker finished, winking as he nudged Wash playfully.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, thats right! Next chapters a drunk chapter! :D Anyways, looking back on this i've noticed Mackenzie has never gotten Wash's name right. Maybe, like once or twice but still. I think i might make that a running gag :). 
> 
> Thanks for reading and please leave a comment!
> 
> -FanficNinja


	48. Chapter 47, The Story Of Tonight

At first, they had made a pact not to get _too_ drunk. However that 'pact' soon became seemingly nonexistent. Everyone was full on out of it. So much so, that they gained the attention of York, Carolina and Tex who had no problem joining in on the fun. Though some people chose to drink very little (Smith and Wash) that didn't stop everyone else from drinking like it was their last day on planet earth. Tucker was vomiting in the bathroom, Grif was doing any dare that Church or Mackenzie would throw at him and everyone else was gathered in the middle of the room talking in their drunk daze. It was an explosion of misbehaviour and unwarranted laughing.

"So...so i said... ' _Hey! You two stop_!' And they didn't so i..." York made a loud and disgusting burp. Silence reigned.

"Uh, what did you do?" Wash finally asked, not nearly as drunk as everyone else but still trying to enjoy the moment. York looked at him and gave him a questioning glance. "You know, when you were the lifeguard? The two kids? What did you do?" Wash smiled weakly, trying to remind the brunette.

"R-right!" He agreed before laughing heavilly. "I forgot" He told before the whole table burst into laughter with the exception of Wash, Smith and Tex. Then again, Wash did let out a small chuckle. Not because of Yorks drunk state, but because he swore he heard Carolina snort and that was one of the funniest noises he had ever heard. "A-anyways, did i ever tell you about the time i... i was a lifeguard? And there were these two... kids like sixteen or so...eighteen... something and they were stealing...food from the... cafeteria?"

"No, you didn't" Wash lied, before he stood up and turned to Tex. "Hey Tex, have you seen Tucker?" He asked politely. She nodded. Though Tex had had _some_ drinks, she had, from what Wash discovered, a high tolerance. Besides Smith, and maybe Mackenzie (he hadn't really talked to her yet) she was the only one he could really have a conversation with. Realising he had kept strangely quiet after she nodded he spoke again. "Where is he?"

"He had a drinking contest with Grif i think" She informed. "I think hes in the bathroom..."

"Ah. I see" Wash shook his head in disaproval. As much as Tucker claimed he had a high tolerance, he did not. Far from it infact. He could really only handle three drinks at a time. Nothing more. Before they had dropped them off back here, they had actually gone to a bar for a 'last treat' as it was. Tucker drank four drinks and ended up in the bathroom puking for two hours. It was pretty bad. Knowing that though, he began walking fast. He finally came to the bathroom door and gave a loud knock on the door. "Tucker?"

He heard a loud puke and then Tuckers clearly disoriented voice shout at him. "Wash! You better not be hear to lecture me or some shit!" He yelled, annoyed.

"No, i'm not" Wash smiled. "Just here to ask if you're okay!" He stated.

"Do i sound okay to you!?" Tucker said sarcastically, before vomiting again.

"No" Wash admitted. "I suppose not. Do you want me to come in?"

"What!? Why!? Do you want to see me sick or something!?" Tucker snapped. Wash went silent. "You wanna say i told you so don't you?" Tucker questioned. Wash stayed quiet. "You fuck" The aqua soldier said, before clearing his voice. "Fine. You can come in!"

"Really?" Wash said surprised.

"Yeah, sure whatever" Tucker rolled his eyes. "Just don't be an ass"

"No promises" Wash laughed before entering the bathroom. Tucker was leaning over the toilet, vomiting repeatedly. Wash trying his hardest not to be disgusted, walked over and rested a hand on Tuckers back. Tucker vomited again. _God_. Wash thought. _He sounds like hes eaten a car or something..._ Wash gave a weak smile. "So Tucker, why'd you allow me to be in he-"

"Okay so why the fuck did you lie to me about your age!?" Tucker said, looking up. He seemed to be supposedly (and suspiciously) done with vomiting.

"W-what?" Wash stood back a little.

"You told me you were twenty-one" Tucker told. Wash looked away, ashamed. "What the fuck dude? You're twenty-nine. Why would you lie to me about that?" Tucker asked.

"W-well, its just... you're twenty-five aren't you? So really it isn't that bad. Is it?" Wash asked hopeful.

Tucker sighed. "Dude, what age you _actually_ are isn't the problem. I've dated people well into their thirtys. I'm mad at you because i don't know why you would need to lie about your age" He told. "Atleast to me" He added.

"I'm sorry Tucker" Wash apologised. "When i was in project Freelancer we had to go by fake ages. I guess i never really grew out of the one i was given. I felt that if i told anyone otherwise, they would judge me-"

"OH FOR FUCKS SAKE!" Tucker slammed his fist into the wall. "You're not in project Freelancer anymore, okay? You always try to distance yourself from ever being associated with it anymore but you always bring it up!" He said enraged. Wash was about to say something but Tucker wasn't having it. "No. Let me finish" He raised a hand to shush him. "Take responsibility for yourself dude! So what if the project changed your age? You're no longer in the project so it shouldn't matter. Do you get what i'm saying?" Wash nodded. "Exactly" Tucker flushed the toilet before beginning to walk out. "I think i'm gonna call it a night" Tucker informed. "I feel like i'm gonna die with this headache"

Wash nodded again absolutely speecheless, and watched as the younger man walked out of the bathroom. He sighed. "I guess you're right" He looked in the mirror. "About everything"

\---

"Okay, okay!" Mackenzie pointed at the vase. "I dare ya, Dexter Grif, to pour all the samson soda we have into that one vase and chug it all down!" She dared. "AND ya must put all the chips in it, and bacon grease!" She added menacingly. "If ya can't do it, thats game and we win!" She informed, pointing to herself and Church. They hi-fived.

"Ha! Sorry lady, but thats my breakfast on tuesdays!" Grif told, before grabbing the vase and running into the kitchen. "You are gonna be sorry!"

"You do realise thats Flowers the old captains precious vase handed down his family for generations, right?" Church asked.

"So?" Mackenzie raised an eyebrow.

"Lets break it when we're done!" Church announced, clearly still drunk.

"Yeah!" Mackenzie agreed excitedly.

Grif came back with all the ingredients in the vase. He smirked at them. "You are **SO** gonna owe me soon" He laughed, unaware of the fact he wasn't being dared with any money. He instantly chugged it down. All of it was gone in mere minutes. Church and Mackenzie watched on in astonishment. Mackenzie couldn't believe how strong of a stomach Grif truly had. It was surely an amazing sight. He wasn't fat at all so this made his unhealthy habits interesting. According to Church Grif used to be extremely fat, but it seemed like he'd lost it all doing push-ups with encouragment from Simmons. Church said those were the loudest days in the canyon, because apparently Grif whined like hell. Suddenly, without any warning Grif was done. He placed the vase down and looked at them, eyes wide with confidence. "You guys must be feeling like total losers" He said mockingly. It looked like he had survived....that was  _until_ he passed out.

"Well... he fucked up" Church told, turning to face Mackenzie "Hey Mackenzie, how willing are you to accept a challenge?" He asked, getting over Grif passing out rather quickly. She smiled at him. "Good. Drinking game? Everytime we drink, we need to be given a task. Whoever does it better gets five bucks. The winner is named when someone earns one hundred dollars off the other person!" Church explained. Mackenzie smirked at him, and accepted his challenge without any second thought.

\---

"SO ALONE. TRAPPED IN A ROOM. BORED. SAD. SO ALONE. TRAPPED IN A ROOM" Caboose said sorrowfully, beginning to repeat himself. Simmons watched him in annoyance. Donut however was far happier then them. He was playing cards with Lopez and winning. Then again, Lopez was losing on purpose. "BORED. SAD. SO ALONE. TRAPPED IN A ROOM. BORED. SAD. SO ALONE. TRAPPED IN A RO-"

"Caboose please!" Simmons pleaded. "I'm trying to write a poem!"

" _Oooh_ , can i see?" Donut asked, skipping over to Simmons and taking his laptop away to read what he had written. " _My name is Dick Simmons, but please, call me Simmons_ " Donut began, Simmons desperately trying to take his laptop back. " _My heart wants to pour, but i can't talk to women. Sometimes the world feels so very, very big and i'm just a boy, lost and afraid_ " Donut laughed a little, but then he raised an eyebrow at the next sentence. ".... _hiding under a desk in the animation department_?" Donut said, not believing that was the next line. He looked over at Simmons. "You lost me"

"Just give it here!" Simmons snapped, snatching his laptop back. "Its art. You wouldn't understand!"

[That is not art. That is a desperate cry for help] Lopez commented. Even though Simmons had no idea what the spanish robot had said, he could still tell it was something that would annoy him and so he glared. [Hey, atleast this time i _care_ that its a desperate cry for help]

"Well, besides _whateverthatwas_..." Donut mumbled. "...i still want to join whatever Mackenzie is doing. I feel like i'm missing out on so much fun!" He exclaimed.

[I'm sure its fine] Lopez assured. [Mackenzie seems like a sane and intelligent person. I'm sure she just sat them down for a chat]

\---

"Drink! Drink! Drink!" Carolina, York, Grif and a few others chanted in unison as Church and Mackenzie tried to spell on a chalkboard. All while Tex was giving them words to write and Smith was judging. Mackenzie won without a flaw in her writing, whilst Church wasn't as successful. "That makes Seventy-five dollars hun!" She laughed, as Church handed her the five dollars. "And to what? Zero?"

"Augh! Next drink!" He said agrivated. They both took a swig of their drinks and Church stared at her in silence. She looked... _fine_. Her hair wasn't messy, she wasn't dizzy and Church could swear she was calculating her every move. On the other hand, Church was dizzy, looked like he had died and was nowhere near being calm and intelligent enough to 'calculate his information' carefully enough to win. There must be something i'm missing. Church wondered. _We've had seventy-fi... seventy-eight? Sixty? Augh! A certain amount of drinks. She shouldn't be this okay_! He was glaring at her now. _What am i missi... wait?_

He looked down at her bottle, the one she had been drinking from the whole time. Something was off. He grabbed it quickly and took a sip. "Hun, what are ya doing?" She asked, smiling devilishly.

"This is... _applejuice_..." Church said dizzily. "You... you son of a bitch!" He pointed at her. "Thats it!" Mackenzie watched as he got out of his seat and tried his hardest to walk towards her. "I'm gonna get you and make you pay...yeah...you'll be sorry..." He told. Mackenzie began counting down in her head. Three...two...one... and with that Church collapsed. "Urghhh...

"Well, before ya'll can prom process the sentence i'm gonna take the money and go!" She said, before grabbing the money, running away and giving a final teasing wink.

Smith smiled at her. "You're really something Mackenzie... really something..." He grinned.

"Hes on the cheaters side! Get him!" Church instructed, waking up for only a few seconds before going out of it again.

Smith looked at the somewhat-passed out man. "Wait? Wha-" He was silenced when a hoard of people all shouting 'BEFORE HE CAN ESCAPE' jumped on him creating a small pile of people of which he was at the bottom of. "What are you guys doing?"

"We should've known he was cheating!" Carolina said. "He has hardly drunk anything all night"

Smith sighed and shook his head. "God, Mackenzie, i love you" He said sweetly. "Wait, what did i just say?" He questioned himself before getting out of the pile he was in. "Oh my god" Smith couldn't believe himself. The others all stared at him in confusion. He didn't care though and just stood there, stunned before whispering;

"I... i love her"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Hamilton and ten little roosters reference in one chapter? Yes. Yes it is. Also, have you ever written two characters and then think they have such good chemistry? Basically me when i wrote Smith and Mackenzies lines. They just seemed cute together. Then i realised it was a ship-fic. Now, i'm adding them as a tag as we speak...
> 
> This chapter was especially fun to write. So, i really hope you enjoy this! :) Thanks for reading and please leave a comment!
> 
> -FanficNinja


	49. Chapter 48, Escape

Carolina had never had fun like that in a long time.

She was hesitant to accept the awkward and clearly drunk invitation from Church to join them, but after she had she regretted nothing. She was finally able to have a good time. Sure, she was drunk but it was a good time none the less. She opened the door to the airship. York was asleep on his bed. She had sent him home before her. He was on the brink of passing out. Carolina went over to the small kitchen inside the airship. It was tiny but had a charming flare to it. She made a small meal. It wasn't a necessarily tasty meal, but that didn't really matter. She opened the door to where Nebraska was.

"Okay, no funny business" She told. "This is the best meal you're gonna get here until you tell me something, so eat up" Carolina instructed. She turned around to where Nebraska had been handcuffed on a chair. She stood back. Eyes widening at the realisation. _Oh god. He wasn't there._ Carolina placed the food down instantly and grabbed her gun. Wait, what? Where was it? It was there five seconds ago. Carolina stopped in her place. Wash had mentioned Nebraska taking away his weapon without him feeling anything. He was good at pickpocketing. Thinking quickly, she readied herself in a martial arts position. "Where ever you are, i wouldn't advise coming near me" She commented. "I'm stronger then you think" She informed, her eyes wandering around the room for any trace of him.

"I never said you weren't strong" Carolina glared at seemingly nothing. That was him alright. "Listen, i don't want to hurt you. I'm just on one side and you're on the other" He stated.

"Hargroves side" Carolina spat.

"Thats still a side" He laughed weakly. The room fell deadly silent. "He just wants peace y'know?" Nebraska sighed. Carolina didn't say a word. "Isn't that what you want too?" He asked. "Peace? For everyone to be happy?"

"Hargrove doesn't want peace. He wants war" Carolina said, clenching her fists. "Well, _power_ " She corrected.

"He may want power, but with his power comes peace" Nebraska said and though he may have not been visible, Carolina could tell in his voice he was smiling. "Don't you get it?" He stated sorrowfully. "You're not the good guys! You make people fearful!" He was shouting at her now. "Do you think its fine when some random place no-ones ever heard of before TRIES TO ASSASINATE SOMEONE SO PROMINATE IN SOCIETY!?" He questioned her, yelling. "Hargrove has done some illegal things, but he's sure as heck made up for it"

"Name one good thing he's done for any of us" Carolina asked him. "Lied. Cheated. Scammed. Just to get what he wants!" She retaliated. "He tried to kill an entire planet... hundreds of people... don't you get that?"

"I do. But what political figure in history has everything about them _agreeable_ and _loved_?" Nebraska asked. "And if you want to know some things that he's done i'll tell you" He paused. "For one, he made it so A.I.'s have a place in society. They aren't just 'robots' now. They can be their own person! How do you think Neon exists in the way she does today? Some lunatic wanted her to die because her life wasn't as important and they payed the price. Now Neon has a human body; that she has changed to fit her personality"

"Thats crazy!" Carolina furrowed her brows.

"Thats science" He interjected. "Thats _fair_ "

"How is that _fair_!?" Carolina snapped. "Wait..." She went silent. "Who?" Nebraska didn't answer her. "Who wanted her to die?" More silence. Carolina punched the wall. "WHO?"

"You weren't really that close with her. I thought you wouldn't mind..." Nebraska said honestly. It was quiet for a while before he spoke up again. "Alaska"

"No... that can't be..." She held back her tears. "You're insane..."

"No-one really liked her. Atleast, not that i know of" He told. Carolina shook violently, awaiting for him to show himself just so she could pummel him into the ground. "If you liked her, you should have shown it" He informed. "Alaska had no family. All she had was skill. She was always quiet... and no-one hung out with her-"

"You hung out with her" Carolina interrupted, absolutely enraged. "You were _her_ friend"

"Things change" He said, almost like he was shrugging it off.

"You're sick" Carolina told.

He sighed. "I can assure you i am quite healthy" Nebraska informed, before taking a shot to Carolinas leg. She made a grunt of pain and fell to the ground. She wasn't wearing her armor, but now she felt idiotic for making that decision. "But unfortunately..." He winked. "The same can't be said for you" He began to run off.

"Wait!" Carolina demanded. He stopped dead in place. "Don't think i didn't notice..." She laughed through the pain. "You could've killed me then. Why not?"

"I already said i didn't want you to die, and Neons mad at me for so much as it is. For good reason too..." He said sadly. "Just don't get in my way and we'll be fine... okay?" He sounded... hopeful. Hopeful for her to agree.

She did not. "I'll never let Hargrove win, Nebraska" She stated. "That man doesn't deserve a happy ending"

"And neither do i" He smiled weakly. "And neither do... we" He told. "Goodbye Carol-"

"Wheres Minnesota?" Carolina asked. Nebraska flinched. "You were so in love. What happened?"

"The director happened, and i learned not to be so childish all the time" He acted like that was a good thing. "I learned to be strong. My uncle... your father! He taught me a little sacrifice was fine now and then. He could help me, but i would need to carry myself the rest of the way" Nebraska grinned at her. The odd part was it was genuine. "He was hard on you. You think he never regretted that but... cousin..." That word made Carolina angry. She didn't know why. "He went easy on me. He felt bad for what he did to you. We-You two were family! He cared about you" Those were his last words before he ran off, but she faintly heard; "I care about you too"

Carolina thought for a moment, trying not to reveal her pain. She was unable to stand up. She began talking through her pain, even if no-one could hear. "See ya later... cousin..."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so i'm setting up a challenge. To all you fanfic writers out there, Grif/Simmons (OTP), Church/Caboose etc, if you can include Mackenzie in your story (very briefly if you want i don't mind) really well and write her lines (if she has any. A brief mention is fine) i'll give you a shout-out in the story! If you do, send me a link. Just comment it here if you want. I want to do this because i wanna see if i've made Mackenzies personality good enough for other people to be able to write her. That way, i can tell if i've done well :). (Sidenote; if you ship her with anyone i won't mind)
> 
> Thank you for reading and please comment! :)
> 
> -FanficNinja


	50. Chapter 49, New News, Old News

"What do you mean, he's _gone_?" Tucker questioned, his eyes going wide with shock.

"Exactly what i just said. He's gone Tucker" Wash repeated. "York just told me. He found Carolina unconcious and the door open. No Ja-" He paused. "Nebraska in sight. Me and him are going to go look for him" He told, beginning to fill his armor pockets with supplies. Tucker blinked a couple times. "He couldn't have gone far. Theres no where to go in this canyon. Chances are he went to find Neon. Heck, maybe even another one of the newcomers. Keep your eye on them Tucker" He stopped, as if he was thinking for a moment. "Um, maybe even Mackenzie too? Somethings off about her..." Tucker raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell Caboose i said that" He politely asked. He grabbed a gun. "I don't know when i'll be back. But i-"

He stopped as Tucker grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Dude, i am not letting you fucking go" He stated.

"What? Oh for- Tucker" Wash tried to pull away. "I'll be right back. This canyons not so big. He can't leave so-"

"Dude, what did i just fucking say!?" Tucker asked loudly. "You can't just wake me up after one heck of a night and tell me you're hunting this moron down!" He informed. "I am not letting you go!"

"Tucker..." Wash sighed.

"We just got together, after fucking years of crushing and i am not allowing you to go off and kill yourself like an idiot!" He said, annoyed. Wash was about to interject but he kept going. "The last few times you went up against this guy you nearly died and at some point you're gonna run out of luck!" He _did_ have a point. "Just... _stay_!" He pleaded. "Don't go and fucking die on me!"

"I'm sorry Tucker" Wash apologised. "But, i need to! Hes out there. Who knows who hes going to hurt next! I can't just be a bystander. I need to take action!"

Tucker rolled his eyes and grabbed a gun from under his bed. "Fine" He groaned, annoyed. "If you're so fucking paranoid, how about _this_..." He loaded the gun. "You stay here and i'll go and track him down" He suggested. "That good for you?"

"W-wha- no! Tucker, i..." Wash stuttered.

"You know what, you're never going to fucking agree are you?" Tucker asked frustrated. Wash nodded. Tucker walked over to his bedroom door, opened it and called out. "Church!? Can you hear me!?" He shouted.

"Yeah asshole!" He heard Church grumpily reply. "What do you want?"

"Stay here and don't let Wash leave!" He instructed.

"Ugh, fine. But you owe me!" Church replied.

"What!?" Wash shrieked. "Tucker, you can't do this! I'm not a child!" He told.

"Really?" Tucker faked surprise. "Because you're sure as hell acting like one" He gave a weak smile. "Listen, Wash. You need a break. I have no idea what kind of shit this kid put you through in Project Freelancer but my point still stays the same. You can't go face this idiot without nearly killing yourself. Best bet is for me to go with York and get this all sorted out" He informed.

Wash stared in silence for a moment before speaking up. "York will nev-"

"York will agree with **me** " Tucker interrupted. "Unless he wants to get swish, swish stabbed atleast" He smirked. "Oh yeah. Fuck i nearly forgot" Tucker went wide-eyed and went over to his bedside table and pulled out his sword. He lit it up. "Nearly forgot this baby!" He grinned in delight. "Jeez, haven't used this in such a long time. Do you think they replaced me as the chosen one for the aliens? I fucking hope not. Nothing can replace the love doctor" He beamed teasingly.

"Right" Wash shook his head sweetly. "But Tucker, maybe you should think about thi-"

"Nope. I've already made up my mind dude" He told, about to leave the room. "You can go hang out with Church or Caboose. Maybe red team too, i don't know. I think Mackenzie is still asleep aswell. If you really think somethings off about her you can go and ask her yourself when she wakes up. Also, Church is kinda bummed. Apparently he lost a lot of money. Something about _M_ and applejuice, i wasn't really listening. He was still drunk"

" _M_?" Wash tilted his head to the side.

"What?" Tucker turned around sharply at the question. "Oh yeah. _M_. Thats what i sometimes call Mackenzie. Like a nickname. Despite being a relative to Caboose that bitch isn't half-bad. She's sort of like a half-friend" He shrugged. "Then again, i think that girl thinks everyone is her friend. Well, unless you're asshole enough to hurt Caboose" He told. "Probably why she hates Tex"

"She hates Tex?" Wash questioned.

"Yeah, and a lot" Tucker stated. "Maybe don't bring her up if you want to get information, alright?" Wash nodded. "Well, see ya later dick" He began walking off before turning around and kissing Wash for five seconds. When he stopped Wash was actually a little disapointed. "So you don't miss me _too_ much" He explained, winking as he closed the door behind him.

\---

"I can't believe i have to watch over Wash..." Church grumbled, rolling over onto his stomach.

"Y'know theres such a thing as _not_ agreeing right hun?" Mackenzie spoke up, having just woken up from a rather peaceful nap. "If ya didn't want to _lotus look_ after _whatshisface_ you should have just denied Tucker" She told.

Church sighed. "I guess you're right" He replied. He took a long look at Mackenzie before giving her a questioning glance. "Why am i feeling _so_ mad at you?" He asked himself. She shrugged, hearing him. He began to think back. _We were daring Grif... then we played a game... she was winning... then i found out..._ Church snapped his fingers. "You bitch!" He shouted. "Give me back all my money!"

"What money?" She winked teasingly, figuring out Church had uncovered the truth.

"The money you stole!" He pointed at her. She gave him a (clearly fake) confused expression. "You... we were playing a drinking game and _you_ cheated! You-"

She got up and gave him a stare that could kill one thousand men. "Are ya accusing me of cheating?" She questioned. Church nodded with a face that screamed ' _obviously_ '. "What _monsterous_  accusations" She shrugged them off. "I didn't cheat. Ya said _drinking_ game. No mention of alcohol whatsoever. Not my fault ya'll picked such a bad drink to go off of..." She laughed cheekily. His eye twitched. "Sad i out-smarted ya?" She asked. "Hun" She added devilishly.

Something in Churchs mind snapped. "Why you- I'M GOING TO KILL Y-"

"Kill me? For the money i _didn't_ steal?" She bit her lip. "Bad decision. If ya kill me, whos gonna give ya'll and cous my bless'n?" She asked innocently. Worst part was she met that genuinely. "Sides, i'm a tough fighter... nearly bet Felix just the other day. Wouldn't go up against me" She advised.

He sighed. "You do have a point" He said grumpily, crossing his arms. "Wait, what was that about Felix?"

Mackenzie flinched. "Nothing" She remarked.

" _No, no, no_. You said-"

"I said nothing you fluffy corndog!" She yelled. "Now look what ya'll have made me done" She shook her head in disbelief. "Ya made me use the C and the F word! Infront of Caboose too..." She made a motion to the asleep Caboose on the floor, alongside red team who were also napping. "Such an idiot" She commented.

"YOU CAN'T GET OUT OF THIS ONE!" Church put his hands on his hips. "You said you nearly bet Felix. When?"

"Just the other day! He messed with Caboose and no-one messed with my cous. Me and Ta- _Smith_... tracked him down" She told honestly. "There was also one other time..." She mumbled. "But that time he disobeyed a direct order. No promotion was coming for that serenade songbird!" Mackenzie informed. "Great. I've also now said the S word!"

"Promotion?" Church tilted his head to the side. "Did he work for you? Wait... were you his boss?"

"I don't wanna talk about it" She stated.

"Oh c'mon Mackenzie, you can't just say that and then end it!" Church told.

"I can and i well. I dont lie so i gave you the honest truth. Now, i'm out of honesty. So leave me ALONE" She demanded, stomping off.

Church watched on in awe. "Well, that escalated quickly"

"Hey Church, whats going on?" Caboose asked, awaking dizzily.

"Nothing much buddy" He lied.

"Okay. I'm going back to sleep mode. The fairy was still talking" He stated nonchalantly.

"Wait, Caboose!" Church pleaded. The blonde gave him a puzzled look.

"Yes Church?"

"Can you tell me everything you know about Mackenzies _past_?"

 


	51. Chapter 50, Amazon

"This way" The woman instructed as she guided Doc through the area.

"So this is where i'm going to be staying?" Doc asked politely, taking a look around at his surroundings. It was a thick forest. The woman infront of him who was guiding him through it stayed silent. "Okay, no answer" He mumbled under his breath. "Its nice" He complimented weakly. "I especially like the... _trees_ " He was greeted with more silence. He sighed. This really wasn't working out. Doc was getting annoyed. "OH, WILL YOU PLEASE JUST ANSWER ME!?" Doc blurted out. He covered his mouth.

She turned around, glaring. She rolled her eyes as they met with Docs fearful expression. "Yes. This is where you're staying. Its the newest city being built. _Amazon_ , i believe its called. Its being faced with many dangers at the moment so we're thinking of calling in the heroes. I'm sure you've heard of them?" She stared at him expectingly. Doc didn't say a word. "Oh c'mon!" She snapped. "The reds and blues!" The woman announced. "And here i thought everyone had heard of them!"

" _The guys_?" Doc choked. "Are they still here!?" He questioned excitedly.

"No, why would they be? They left just after Starburn was built" She informed.

"Oh" Doc looked down, disapointed. "Do you think they'll come back?"

She laughed. "Ha! Hardly. They wanted to leave sooner but couldn't 'cause we were all still waiting for transport to be delivered" She stated. "But they might have to come back soon anyways, despite their denial they are great soldiers and we need them. If they do come we have second in commands prepped up for them. They suck, but don't we all? The're all too young too but, heh, they need teachers and who would be the best mentors ever? Soldiers who have done heroic deeds and haven't just shot one guy and ran. Sidenote; that describes majority of our captains" She joked. "Hey, heres comes a 'second' now. May! Over here!" The woman waved.

A girl turned to her. She had light brown hair and light purple armor. She looked to be sixteen, maybe older. Doc was unsure overall. She had violet eyes which wasn't a natural eye-color but Doc had seen stranger. "Oh hey Miss Ros-" She gasped and ran towards them, pushing Docs guide to the side. "Frank Dufrense? Am i correct?" She smiled brightly. Doc nodded. "Oh my gosh! I wasn't expecting this!" She said truthfully, before bowing before Doc. "I am second in command May Heathers! Your second in command!" She explained. "Kimball has told me **so** much about you!" She turned to Docs guide, who was getting up off the floor after being shoved. "I didn't know we sent for the reds and blues yet! When did it happen!? It must have been recently!"

"Wait... _this_ is Doc?" The guide asked, confused. She looked at the medic. He was shivering, somewhat scared by the bubbly teen. "You're joking..."

"I'm not Ms. Rosita!" May told. So that was the guides name. "I've seen Kimballs photos. This is the guy!"

" _God help us if thats the case_ " Rosita muttered rudely.

"Miss Rosita!" May shook her head. "Don't be rude!" She instructed, before turning to face Doc once more. She snapped her fingers. "Oh. My. Gosh!" She proclaimed. "I nearly forgot! Hi O'Malley! Love ya too!" She waved again, her hand mere inches away from his face. "Wait 'til you meet my team!" She beamed. "They're selected for your other team members too. Something about personality tests!" She smirked.

"Oh, well thats neat" Doc finally spoke. "Who are the-"

"Dodgers is for Grif, Chance is for Simmons, Theodosia is for Caboose, Sammy is for Tucker, Apple is for Sarge and Rowan is for Donut! Dodgers is a real sporty type and puts so much energy into everything he does. Chance is... _dumb_. Really stupid! Theodosia is the smartest person i've ever met! Real brainy girl! Sammy is a scaredy cat, i've hardly talked to him. Hes really shy. Then theres Apple, and if theres one thing she hates its obeying orders. She has a strange fascination with shotguns though, and finally Rowan... hes _really_ rude. Believes in stereotypes aswell. Yet, i think hes actually gay... DON'T TELL HIM I SAID THAT!" She demanded. "He'd kill me!"

"R-right..." Doc gave her a weak smile. He then went wide-eyed. "You said you knew Kimball?" She nodded happily. "Can you... lead me to her? Please?" He pleaded.

"Sure thing!" She saluted, grabbing his hand and running off. Doc followed her. "She was just visiting Amazon now, actually. Good thing you asked or we might not have caught her!" May ran fast with Doc close behind. Suddenly she stopped. Kimball was talking to a soldier. The soldiers voice sounded familiar, but Doc was too happy to be able to concentrate enough to pinpoint it. "Lets just wait 'till they're finished" She half-whispered to Doc.

"-Listen, I understand that you want to change for the best, and that you don't feel happy where you used to stand but..." Kimball paused. "You have hurt so many lives, and you've already proven that you have no problem turning your back on partners" She stated. "Then again, due to _who_ it was i will make an exception. You start tomorrow. But just so you know..." She aimed her gun at his chest. "If i _sense_ or _hear_ about any suspicious behaviour you're gone, and by gone i'm sure you know what i mean"

"Understood m'am" The soldier nodded, before walking off. He had a very deep voice. Doc recognised it, but _where_?

"Kimball!" May called out loudly. "Over here! I have Doc with me!"

As soon as Docs name was mentioned Kimballs head turned sharply in Mays direction. "Doc?" She acted like he was a ghost or some mysterious unknown creature.

"Yes..?" Doc smiled nervously.

"This is impossible" She told herself. "T-take off your helmet" She ordered. Doc (hesitantly) took off his helmet. He had light brown hair and rosy cheeks. Same as always. "It _is_ you" She choked out. "Tucker told me you were dead"

"What!?" May laughed. "Kimball, hes not dead. Hes right here!" She pointed towards Doc.

"Wait, why doesn't she think i'm dead? You all do! And if you guys thought i was dead why would i have a second in command?" He questioned.

"Oh. Um, its easiar to _show_ you than explain" She chuckled. "May, shoot that cone"

"That one. Over there?" May asked. Kimball nodded. "Okay!" She shot but the cone didn't fall over. Instead they both heard a yelp from a soldier on the opposite side of the field saying something along the lines of ' _HELP ME'_ and multiple screams around him. "U-ugh... finger slipped?" She lied.

"She was in the line-up but the worst soldier we had. We couldn't say no to her. Since you were dead, we used you. That way she wouldn't go on the field" Kimball whispered, going over to Doc. "Just watch this!" Kimball told. "May?" The light purple soldier turned to face her. "No"

"Aww..." A face of defeat appeared on the young girls face. It was heartbreaking.

"I'm just kidding with you May..." Kimball said, smiling weakly. The girl perked back up instantly. Kimball leant closer to Doc. "But now that you're alive, _i guess_... she's going to have to go anyway" She stated. Doc felt kind of down at that. She sounded somewhat disapointed. Noticing that, Kimball turned around nervously. "Oh Doc, i didn't mean it like that. That came out ruder then what i intended. I'm glad you're alive, and i know someone who will be even happier" She informed.

"Who?" Doc raised an eyebrow.

"You'll see. She just came back from a mission" Kimball told. She turned on her radio. " _You there? Yes? Good. Come here. I have a surprise for you_ " There was sweetness in her tone. Kimball turned off her radio. "She'll be here in a moment!" Kimball proclaimed. Doc blinked. She? Suddenly, he heard light footsteps comin towards them, which then developed into running. Suddenly he was pummeled to the ground. "Ah. You're here so soon"

"Wha-what's going on?" Doc asked fearfully. At first he thought it was an enemy soldier but at a second glance all it happened to be was a cheerful as always doctor Grey hugging him. "Doctor Grey?"

"Oh my gosh is it really you!?" She shook him excitedly. "I mean, i know there was a surprise but i never could have imagined _you_. Was there some interesting zombie experiment going on? Oh Kimball! I'm rather bummed you didn't invite me. I would've called dibs on re-incarnating the feet" She said cheekily. "I would've made much bigger feet" She mumbed devilishly.

Doc laughed a little at what she was referring to. "Thanks?" He smiled.

Despite appearances (which was typically him being chased by her for experimental pursuits) him and the bubbly doctor shared an unbreakable bond. They both studied in medical fields, both had made a solemn promise to being pacifists (though Doctor Grey wouldn't mind going over that line sometimes) and had shared happy and unforgettable memories together. They were almost like a ~~couple~~ family. _Just_ family.

They were there for a while. On the floor, hugging.

That was until suddenly the tender moment was interrupted by gunshots and screaming. "Damnit. Doc" She turned to face the purple soldier. "You know how apparently Amazon has been being attacked lately?" He nodded. "Well, this is what we mean" She explained, pointing to massive freckles-like robots coming onto the scene. She threw Doc a rifle. He was about to intervene with his usual 'but i'm a pacifist' shtick but she spoke up. "Augh shit! This is the most robots they've ever sent!" She stated, frustrated. Though Doc had never seen the other attacks he could only assume she was right. There were about a hundred coming. "May!"

"Yes Officer Kimball!" May saluted.

"Head to Chorus enterprises and call back-up!" She demanded.

"What kind of back-up!?" May questioned, wanting things to be a little more clear.

Kimball stayed silent, thinking. "The reds and blues" She finally told.

"Really!?" May beamed.

"Yes" Kimball ordered. "Now, go!" There was urgency in her voice. May ran off and Doc got up with Doctor Grey. "Doctor Grey, escort Doc to the safe-house. We need him alive longer then this and judging by the fact he hasn't used that rifle i can only gather he's not properly trained in that weapon" Her opinion was much better then the actual one which could also relate to 'not wanting to' and all that.

Doc smiled and ran off with Doctor Grey. He had to get out of there before O'malley decided to turn it into a blood fest. Wait... O'malley had been surprisingly dormant this whole time. Infact, he wasn't even speaking up now! When all of Docs thoughts were geared towards and or involving him. It was almost like...

...he wasn't there anymore.

 


	52. Chapter 51, Lets Go, Go Back, Got One

"Wash, hurry up!" York called out. He had been waiting outside blue base for Wash to gather his gear, but he was nowhere in sight. "Wash, are you coming or wha...?" York paused as the familiar aqua soldier made his way over to him. "Tucker?" He questioned.

"Sup dude" Tucker said, walking over. "Listen, Wash has like... nearly _killed_ himself like  _every_ time hes faced this guy. Do you really think i'd let him go?" He acted as if the answer was obvious.

York smiled. "You really do care about him"

"Well, duh" Tucker rolled his eyes. "Now come on, like Wash said he couldn't have gotten far" Tucker informed, as him and York started their search all over the canyon. "Oh, and York" Tucker turned to face the gold soldier.

"Yeah?"

Tucker sighed. "When we find him, i call shotgun on killing the fucktard"

\---

"What do you mean Mackenzies _past_ Church?" Caboose asked.

Church stared. "Well, her _past_ " He tried to make it clearer. "You know, before she became a sargent? Hasn't she ever told you anything?" Caboose blinked. "Wait, no. How about this. When you two re-united did she tell you anything?" Church asked, realising that Caboose would say everything she had said he added; "Anything important or strange?"

"Nothing much" Caboose bit his lip. "She had joined a lot of colonies though. Moon army, Sun army, Pluto army, Star army, a lot more armies. Shes been everywhere!" He beamed. "I don't know why she didn't just stick with one though" Caboose told, puzzled. Maybe she was looking for you buddy... Church thought. "She was even on Grifs colony for a while!" Caboose stated.

"Grifs old colony!?" Church questioned. He had known about Grif having an old colony before. Grif had let it slip once. He never went into further detail on it, after all he wasn't a very emotional guy, but even Church could tell the experience had changed a lot of his personality. "When the fuck did she tell you that?"

"Just recently" Caboose replied. "When she ran into our room and locked the door to give us snacks" He said happily. _So thats where she ran off to after cheating!_ Church realised. _Wait... snacks? When did she-HOLY SHIT!? Those snacks she had with her. The ones she wasn't eating! Wait!? Was she expecting me to figure her out eventually!? HOW THE FUCK IS THIS A RELATIVE TO CABOOSE!?_ "Church?" Cabooses voice made Church snap back into reality. Yet a small part of him was still dwelling on what a surprising genius Mackenzie could be when she wanted to. "Anyways, she said she recognised Grif. They were friends. Not best friends. I'm Mackenzies best friend"

"I thought i was your best friend..." Church pouted. He felt like that was petty of him. He never wanted to be Cabooses best friend, so why now was it different?  It also came out sounding jealous, and Church was anything but that. Well, maybe he was a _little_ jealous. A lot? It didn't really matter. The point was he  ~~totally was~~ **wasn't** jealous.

" _No, no, no_ Church!" Caboose shook his head. "You **are** my best friend!" He grinned. "Mackenzie is my best friend in the _family_!" He explained.

"What about your mum and dad? Auntie, uncle? All that?" Church raised an eye-brow. Caboose tilted his head to the side. "...Grandparents?"

"Yes. But my dad has gone on a walk and he hasn't come back yet so i don't feel like we can be best friends until he comes back. He _will_ , just not now. I mean, he came back in a call a couple days after! Mum said he got hugged by a car. I _think_ she said hugged. I was very confused" Caboose told. "She was very sad that day" He added. "My grandparents live in London. They send me gifts! One year, mum got a note that made her cry tears of joy! Something about how shes the best mum ever, and that they were very proud of her and wanted her to _not_ die" He smiled.

"Okay..." Church nodded. _This doesn't sound right..._

"Then my mum said i was holding her back, and i _am_. I'm always guarding her!" He proclaimed. "She said she liked art! And then left to go to Italy for a business trip. She hasn't come back either. I think she and my dad met up and are having lots of fun!" He told, cheerfully. "Then Mackenzie took me in with my uncle. They had a spare room in the house because my auntie was under a tree. I would love to live with her. Living under a tree sounds really fun!" He informed. "We'd visit her, but never go under the tree to see her. I don't know why. She sounded like a nice lady, she really could've been my best friend!"

"Oh god" Church whispered. How Caboose had interpreted things all through the years. It was... awful. Not Caboose, it wasn't his fault. Just, having all this happen and not understanding any of it. Who knew a guy with a past like this would end up so perky and happy in the future...

 

"OH!" Caboose raised his hands in excitement. "There were three people that could rival you for **non-family** best friend though. I changed schools to go to the same school as Mackenzie. I was friends with these three kids. They were so cool! But, they were kind of jealous sometimes. There was this guy at school who said i was special and should go live under the tree with my auntie and dad, and my friends would always tell him to go away!" Caboose said sadly. "Mackenzie sorted things out though, she grabbed the kid, took him behind the school and he came back with a cast around his arm. Everyone wrote on it, he was getting so much attention. Mackenzie wrote something too. 'I'd do it again' i think. Its nice to know she'd be willing to help him again. Infact, she did. Five more times"

"Kid deserved it..." Church muttered. Somehow, he was gonna find this kid and kill them in the near future. "Don't you find that a little bit weird though, Caboose?" He spoke up.

"Of course!" Caboose agreed. "It was weird that i didn't know my dad had gone to live with my auntie. He must be out of a job if he had to bunk with her" He snorted. " _Silly_ dad. He could always come back with us! _You're just on a walk dad!_ " He mocked. "Either way, then i was drafted and Butch Flowers told me-"

"You got to meet Butch Flowers?" Church asked.

"Sorry, i mean Tucker. I didn't like him" He commented.

"I thought you guys were friends now" Church questioned.

"We are. This story takes place in the past Church. I need to use past terms" He acted as if it was obvious. "You have like, no sense in the art of recounts Church" Caboose told. Church didn't know what was weirder. That he was just sassed by Caboose, or that Caboose had used the word 'recounts' properly. "Anyways, thats it. THEN I MET YOU!" He booped his nose.

"What about your three friends?" Church asked curiously.

"Oh. One became a lawyer, the other a doctor and then the others was a secret" He informed. "Something about gathering documents and giving them to other people. Hiding, fake ID's. Government i think. It was really confusing!" Caboose admitted.

"Holy shit!? One of your friends was a fucking spy!?" Church stared.

"A what?" Caboose raised an eye-brow.

"Nevermind" Church chuckled. "I'm gonna start making dinner" He said, getting up and heading to the kitchen. When he walked out he saw Wash already in there making spaghetti. That was weird. Spaghetti was Washs comfort food. Church didn't get it. After all, macaroni and cheese made more sense for a comfort food in Churchs opinion. Well, thats just what worked for him. "Okay, what the fucks up?"

"If you're asking about the comfort food its because Tuckers chasing after someone incredibly dangerous and i don't want him to get hurt" Wash stated. Well, Church wasn't expecting that. Wash was definitely more direct then anyone he knew. Still, there was one thing Church wanted to know Wash would never be direct about.

"Now that we've got that out of the way, mind _spilling_ the beans?"

"What? But that would ruin the recipe..." Wash said, his gaze drifting over to the can of beans beside him, ready to be put in the spaghetti.

"Wha-no! You idiot! Who uses beans for spaghetti anyway?" Church snapped. Wash stared in silence. He could be an idiot sometimes. "I mean, whats the beef between you and Nebraska?" Wash raised an eye-brow as he gazed over at the beef he was going to use. "Oh for fucks sake-hypothetical beef Wash!" Church hissed. Wash finally nodded in understanding.

"I don't want to lie to you after all i've done, so i'll just be frank" Wash sighed. "Name your best friend"

"Caboose" Church firmly answered.

"Exactly" He snapped his fingers. "Before you guys, Nebraska was _my_ best friend"

"What happened?" Church asked.

"I guess i became more serious after y-" He stopped himself. "Epsilon went inside my head. We drifted apart. I think..." His fists clenched. "The director began teaching him things... but not good things... _like_..."

"Bad things?" Church questioned

"Yeah. Not _intentionally_ bad, but the results?" Wash felt the bullet wound Nebraska had left on him. "Not good"

"I see" Church nodded. "Well, i just finished talking with Caboose and god his backstory is fucking sad"

"Really?" Wash couldn't believe this. "Doesn't seem like it"

"Thats because he doesn't get it! He sees everything so differently. His dad and aunties dead, mum left him, his granparents presumably are jerks and he had a bully in school that we will find and we will kill" He announced. "But he just thinks that his dads on a walk, the bully is his friend and that his auntie has the worst house incase of a storm ever!" He yelled in defeat. 

"Sounds interesting..." Wash admitted.

"He's just an idiot sometimes. How can he remain so happy all the fucking time after all hes been through? People are gonna be confused, i know i sure am. I mean, i may love him but others won't love him at sight. Maybe they will though... he does have the handsome muscular features" Church stated. 

"What did you just say?" Wash asked. 

"Ugh!" Church jumped. "N-nothing!"

"No. You said-"

"I didn't say anything!"

"Yes you di-"

"If i did say anything it would be that your spaghetti is burning!"

"Haha. Very fun-SHIT!" Wash flinched and turned off the oven before getting the fire extinguisher and getting rid of the fire. "That was..." He took a deep breath. "...so intense..." He turned to where Church was but he was now gone. "Oh, you son of a-"

\---

"Felix!" Delaware shouted. "I have a surprise for you!" She told. "I captured one of the blood gulch crew or whatever... they were heading to red base" Silence. "Felix!" She shouted again. "I figured you'd want to come and kill them yourself!"

Felix ran down the stairs holding his signature gun. "Where!?" He snarled.

"Here" She said, turning over to where a sheet was covering someones muffled screams. "Wanna end 'em?" She teased.

"Oh fuck yeah!" He grinned. Oh, who was it? Caboose, Tucker, Grif, Simmons!? It looks like the outline of a woman. Maybe Carolina? Oh fuck, please let it be Carolina. He prayed for that to be the case. "Do it! Unveil them! This is going to be so much fucking fun! Revenge served on a silver platter!" He deemed it. She nodded, annoyed that he hadn't said thank you. Seriously, why was she doing this for him. She unveiled it.

A woman with pitch black hair and yellow armor tied up appeared. Sister. "Okay, who the fuck are you people!?" She hissed. "If you're the cops and its 'cause of the underaged drinking that was only once, okay? And the other time didn't count. That beer was hardly fucking cold!" She defended herself. "And if you're talking about that other time, i was under supervision by my bro. So what if i told him it was applejuice! It wasn't lying. Well yeah, it kinda was but he wouldn't have let me!"

Delaware watched the woman blab on, awaiting for Felix to shoot her. He didn't. "Why aren't you killing her?" She furrowed her brows at him. Felix was dead quiet. He turned towards Delware, glaring. He pointed at Sister, annoyed. Holding his gun tightly.

"Who the fuck is this!?"


	53. Chapter 52, Confrontation^

Jay searched everywhere. He had gone into the little caves of the canyon, near the waterfalls and even in the corners. Yet he still couldn't find her... _Neon_. Jay has known for a long time that hes been changing. When he first joined Project Freelancer he wanted to be peaceful and a friend to everyone. That dream died quickly. Many might wonder why he joined the project anyways though, if happiness among people was what he wanted and not to kill people as a soldier. But it wasn't his decision. It was his uncles. Uncle Church.

Uncle Church was a quiet man. Atleast, he was quiet towards the family. They had no idea how he acted in work conditions. He rarely talked to them at all. Jay hadn't even met his cousin, Carolina. He loved her, but she was family. He knew if he ever did meet her though, it would be special and happy. Perhaps Uncle Church had finally come for Christmas and brought her along! He used to do that. Before Jay was born... apparently Uncle Church had lost someone. Who? Jay wasn't really sure. He just knew it had been hard for him.

Yet, here he was. He'd finally met Carolina and the circumstances were far different. She was against him and he was against her. Jay didn't agree with her on what she was fighting for. He wished he did. Then, for once, he could be on a side that allowed him to be viewed as a good person and not a monster. Jay didn't see himself as a monster though, despite his side. He just had very strong opinions and he wouldn't wager them for her. The only person he'd ever changed a previously established opinion had been for...

Jay shook his head. He needed to focus. He _needed_ to find Neon. He looked around. What was nearby that he hadn't checked? It was a sure fact he knew it that people would be after him. He had to hurry. _Where, where, where?_ He repeated in his head. He needed to find her so that they could leave. He wasn't going to leave without her. He looked up. Red base. He hadn't taken a look in the bases yet. Why would he? He'd get caught. But Neon was special. He had to risk it. He carefully made his way to the side of the base.

He took a peak through the window. There was nothing nor no-one inside. He didn't hear anything either.

It wasn't the best decision but he jumped through the window. "Neon?" He whispered. He walked through the seemingly empty base. "Neon?" He called again, a little bit louder. Still nothing. He made his way to the kitchen. When he got there, he covered his mouth. "W-what the!?" He started taking small breaths and counting. A man in red armor laid on the floor, surrounded by blood. He knelt down and took off the mans helmet. "Did he..." Jay started coming to conclusions. "N-no... no way" He choked out. 

At first, Jay had thought the old man had commited suicide. Yet, on closer inspection there was no gun around. He hadn't been shot. Jay felt his pulse. Oh thank god... his breathing steadied. The man was still alive. Jay placed down a healing unit. He may not be on the same side as this guy, but he didn't like watching death. After all, he hardly killed people. Even with Wash he had been careful to make sure he missed all the important stuff. But still, an important thought lingered in the soldiers mind. What did this?

He heard light steps behind him. They didn't sound human, but not like an animals either... was it an alien? Probably. Jay didn't check. All he did was run as fast as he could through the base. Luckily for him, no-one else was in there. He came to a stop. He heard crying. Neons crying.

"Neon?" He questioned, probably not as quiet as he should have. The crying stopped abruptly.

"J-Jay?" She sniffled out.

Jay followed her voice and came to her. He saw her leaning against the wall as she sat. Her face covered in tears. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?" He asked. She nodded. "Oh thank god" He smiled weakly. "Come on, we need to go. Hargrove isn't going to wait for us forever" He reminded. "He's only attacking Amazon for so long before he moves onto the _next_ city. If we get there after that, he'll think we're too slow and call someone else" A silence passed between the two. "Neon?" He tried to snap her attention back towards him.

"Did i hurt them?" She stared at him with big, sad eyes.

Jay raised an eye-brow. "Hurt who?"

"The guy! The leader of this base!" She stated, still crying. Jays eyes went wide. He had forgotten that for a moment. Neon never used her full power often. She usually made forcefields and could teleport, even some slight time manipulation due to the fact that when she was being created they wanted to make an A.I. with lots of abilites but unknown to her creators, there was one other thing they never knew about her. One thing only triggered by her emotions. Summoning. Neon could make mysterious alien-like creatures exist around her. They were dangerous, and would try and kill anyone that moved besides Neon and anyone she shared a connection with. Still, Jay knew that he had the right idea even without knowing what was going on. His and Neons relationship was obviously rocky at the moment. That alien would have ripped him to shreds... "Well! Answer me!" Neon pleaded again.

"Wha...oh...right..." Jay blinked a couple times. He had been just staring at her awkwardly. "I just... you did that?" It wasn't the best question to ask, but it tumbled out.

"I didn't mean to, okay!" She growled. "I used my time distortion to go forward in time. I didn't wanna deal with the stupid situation!" She explained. "Then i went to red base and into the kitchen. I should have waited a while. My systems... they were unstable, alright? I couldn't comprehend anything" She told. "I heard that old guy talk to me, and my systems saw him as _you_ and i just...i just...SUMMONED!" She informed. "He hit the ground fast. Blood. I ran. I left the alien behind..." She didn't even look up at him. "I was an idiot!"

"N-no, you're not" Jay tried his hardest to smile. "You were just scared. It was my fau-"

"You don't get it do you!?" She snapped. "To you its just _random Neon, lovely innocent Neon and oh i could never do anything wrong Neon!_ " She paused, sighing. "I could've hurt you. Killed you. My systems thought it was you doofus!" She stated. "I thought it was you, and i tried to hurt you!" She said, tearing up. "All because of my stupid faulty programming!"

"But everything else works fine, right?" He tilted his head to the side.

"Sometimes, i guess" She laid down. "Rarely" She corrected.

"They've worked every time we've been here! Sort of... you're getting better at it" He grinned. "Now, lets go. Please" He offered her his hand. "I still haven't got my paycheck!" He joked. Neon grabbed his hand and he pulled her up. "There we go. Everythings fine" He assured.

"Dude, i found him! Fucks over here!" That voice. Jay turned. Tucker. "Hey you! My boyfriend has a bullet hole with your name on it. No getting out of this one" Tucker said, aiming his gun at the two. "Also, what did you do to Sarge? Why is he bleeding? Why is there a healing unit?" He kept laying questions down for Jay. "Do you want him alive? Where you going to try killing him again? What the fuck is your game!?" Tucker questioned. "It doesn't matter, though... you are NOT going through with it anyway. Bye, fucke-"

"STOP!" Jay begged. He looked over at Neon. "Neon... remember that sometimes a replacememt is better then the real thing" Neons eyes went wide, before nodding. She wiped away her tears. Jay looked back at Tucker. "Go ahead, shoot me. Y'know what? Shoot the two of us" He demanded. "It'll only make you feel worse in the end"

"Those are your last words?" Tucker smirked. "Like, just sacrificing your girlfriend i think and yourself? Dick move dude" He stated. "Dick. Move"

"Well, i am a bit of a dick" He admitted. Neon hugged him tightly. "Now, go"

"Fine. Three, two, one-" Tucker shot. The two fell to the ground. Wait, did he get the both of them? Sweet. He clapped to himself quietly. York bolted around the corner, gun in hand. He spotted the dead bodies.

"Wow. You took them out by yourself?" He couldn't believe it.

"Yeah. They were a lot easier then i could have thought dude..." He agreed. "This is why plans suck" He said, walking out of the cold and empty base. "Man, that felt great" He told, beaming. York stayed behind. Looking at the bodies. There was something off about them. He couldn't quite pinpoint it but there was something. He felt like he was thinking too much about it, so he got up and walked out in Tuckers direction. However, a thought flashed in his mind for a second before he shrugged it off.

' _remember that sometimes a replacememt is better then the real thing'_

 


	54. Chapter 53, You Guys Really Are Heroes

Wash sighed as he tossed the burnt spaghetti in the trash. He looked out the window. The moon had already risen and they hadn't even had dinner yet. Just great. Wash thought, before going over to the fridge and scanning for any meal that would be quick to prepare. He pulled out a bag of macaroni and cheese before promptly putting it in the microwave. He found it weird they kept their macaroni and cheese in the fridge and not the pantry but then again, they were weird people. The microwave made a slight beeping noise and he opened it, grabbing the bag and putting all of the ingredients evenly among four bowls. By the end of it, the bag was empty.

"Okay. There we go" He smiled. "Church, Caboose, me and... Tucker" Wash looked out of the window again for any trace of the aqua soldier. Nothing. "I can't believe they're not back by now" He told himself. "I wonder if they... _no, no_. Yorks a great soldier and Tucker... well, he's one _too_ but..." Wash struggled to try and find words that comforted him the most. He couldn't let this get to him. They were fine.

They had to be.

"Hey dude, you've been in there for such a long time! Is dinner ready yet?" Wash heard Grif ask from the next room over. Washs eyes went wide. He forgot about red team.

"Oh... um, sorry guys!" Wash apologised loudly so they could hear him. "I completely forgot you guys were here. I just made macaroni and cheese for blue team but..." Wash looked through the fridge for anything else they could eat. "I'll quickly whip something up for you guys now, if thats okay?" He questioned. He was met with silence. Suddenly, Simmons entered the kitchen. "Simmons?"

"Yeah. Um, listen, i know you're worried about Tucker so..." Simmons bit his lip. "I figured maybe you could just relax? I can make the rest of the guys dinner..." He informed. "I know you guys have vegetables here, so i guess i can make salad. Maybe chicken? I could always make a side dish" Simmons started getting carried away. "And i think theres enough here to make some Hollandse Nieuwe Harrings" Wash didn't even know what that was. "And also-" He cut himself off, blushing. "The point is, Wash. You need a break"

Washs confused stare became a weak smile. "Okay. Thats really thoughtful of you. Thanks Sim-"

"Now, i don't wanna be rude..." He began as he pushed Wash out of the kitchen. "But i kind of want to start now and you being in here is distracting me. I wouldn't wanna be an idiot and burn food" He joked. Wash stayed silent awkwardly. "Anyways, go relax and i'll finish things up here!" He concluded, closing the kitchen door as soon as Wash was completely out.

"Well, he was definitely excited..." Wash stated.

Grif turned around to face him. " _Obviously_ " He agreed, rolling his eyes. "Simmons fucking _loves_ to cook, dude. Which is great for me. If its my turn on cooking duty i always offer it to Simmons" He told. "I used to let Donut cook, but his creations would always go weird and mis-shape..."

"I didn't think that kind of thing would bother you" Wash admitted.

"It doesn't" Grif smiled. "Lets just say, the shapes the food would accidentally become were kinda... _suggestive_ " His gaze shifted over to the pink soldier on the other side of the room, who upon hearing what Grif said crossed his arms and turned away. Grif smirked at Wash. "He still denies it was intentional..."

"It wasn't Grif! They were meant to be shaped like puppies!" Donut snapped.

"Sure Donut" Grif rolled his eyes. Donuts left eye twitched. The orange soldier turned to look at Donut, grinning. "You can't make cookies shaped like dicks by mistake dude. Still gotta admit though, it was fucking hilarious seeing Simmons face" He laughed. Donut stomped and left the room. "Jeez, can he not take a joke?" Grif whispered to himself. Wash stared in awe.

"Are you sure you guys are friends?" He questioned.

"Sometimes friends are jerks to eachother hun" Mackenzie said, walking into the room. She was wearing pajama shorts and tanktop. The tanktop reading; _i was born on the moon_! In big, bold blue letters. She went up to Grif and took the last potato chip out of the bag to his annoyance. She ate it in one full bite. "But, deep down, they all have _gadget good i_ ntentions!" She gave a thumbs up. "Atleast i hope they do" She added smirking.

"Huh..." Grif blinked at her, obviously confused. He was thinking.

"Well, um... _Mackenzie_ " Wash smiled weakly. "Where have you _been_ today?" He asked. "I haven't seen you at all. Atleast since yesterday. Did you just stay in your room all morning?" He questioned.

She eyed him suspiciously before shrugging. "I guess. I came in earliar, but not for very long. I talked to Church and... lets just say, he was being a little too _cupcake curious_ for my liking..." She commented. "Besides that though pretty much, **yeah**. I mean, i did come out for a few minutes to talk to my teammates" Her gaze fixated outside the window, to where all the tents were. "They seem to be doin' fine" She told, sounding angry.

"You don't sound to be too happy about that..." Grif stated.

"Lets just say, i might not be on their good side right now" She said sadly. "Mike is mad at me because i'm the _only_ one who can calm down Daniel when he has his panic attacks and i wanna stay here, Zacharys mad at me because she thinks i punched her in the face that night when she got drunk and everyone else is mad 'cause everyone else is mad! The only person who wouldn't be mad at me is Honey-Lemon and she has a few screws loose. Also Chaos and Zero i guess but..." She paused. "Well... they just hate me naturally so... yeah"

"Chaos? Zero?" Wash stared. "Who are they? Are they newcomers? I don't think i remember them"

"They didn't wanna come with us. They claim its because they hate all of us but..." Mackenzie winked. "I think they're an item and wanted a little alone time" She grinned devilishly. "They said they'd fly the extra ship and come get us if we took too long, so even despite what happened to ma' friends ship with Nebraska-

"Wait, you weren't here for that. How did you know that happened?"

"-i'm not worried. They'll get to leave in _gumball good_ time. Speaking of which... right on schedule" She nodded at seemingly nothing. "I figured they'd arrive soon" She smiled, and got up. She opened the door before looking back at Wash and Grif with a smirk and a wink. "Now y'all stay here, kay?" She told. "I gotta go do something..."

"I don't get why you need to leave" Grif said honestly.

"Well, i always say, if ya stick to one place for the rest of your life you're never truly moving forward!" She smiled, her eyes filled with joy.

"What does that mean?" Wash questioned.

However, his question was ignored when Grif got up and pointed at Mackenzie with a mixture of rage, happiness and confusion. "I knew that i had seen you somewhere before!" He stated. "How the fuck are you here!?" He demanded an answer.

She put her hands on her hips. "Finally, ya recognise me!"

\---

Zachary, Mike and Honey-lemon were the first ones to spot the familiar ship beginning to land on the premisis. They had dashed to it, causing the others to be so curious that they followed them. When they got there, the ship had finally landed and the doors opened, revealing two soldiers. "Zero! Chaos!" Honey-lemon bolted towards them and hugged them tightly. "I knew you would come! You're all so lovely and wonderful!" She complimented.

"Thanks" Chaos said, not genuinely. Zero patted Honey-lemon on the back though, as she continued to hug the two.

"To be honest, we were very close to not coming because someone didn't want to..." Zero informed, his gaze shifting over to Chaos. The soldier glared in return. "But we have to admit, we were rather frustrated when we came here to see there was already two working ships in the area" He sighed.

"Wait, what?" Zachary stared. "Two w _orking_ ships? But, ours was...and these guys have one... what other ship did you s-"

"Diancie must admit it had been hard having two less people on red team to do her bidding" Diancie interrupted, making Zachary scowl and poke out her tongue like a child. "Yet, now you are back and things are looking up. Red team officially outnumbers the idiots!"

"I'm in blue team..." Zero reminded.

"Oh. I didn't recognise you so thy just assumed you were on red team" She replied bluntly. Zero frowned.

"Bitch" Chaos commented in his usual monotone flat voice, lacking any emotion. Diancie glared at him.

A moment of silence passed between the group until Honey-Lemon smiled. "LETS GO BACK HOME!" She chirped. They all cheered and made their way on the ship.

"Wait!" Carolina ran up to them panting. "Don't leave!" She instructed. They watched her come to them in silence. "I'm wondering, is it possible that three of you could join us on a journey of a lifetime?" She asked tiredly.

"What!?" They said all in unison.

\---

Carolina grumbled as she sat up in her hospital bed. She had first woken to see York, though he had left quickly. Suddenly Carolina heard a ringing noise. Her phone. She had gotten one before they came here, just incase they were needed anywhere. She checked it. It was Kimball. She answered it. "Hey, whats going on?"

"Carolina, we need the reds and blues!" That wasn't Kimball. More like one of the members of her troops. "Somethings going on and we need them. Please hurry!" The voice demanded.

"Right" Carolina said, getting off the bed carefully. She understood this must have been urgent. Suddenly, the voice on the phone began whispering. Muttering. It seemed to be to someone else. "What is it?" Carolina asked fearful.

"I... um... we don't think they'll be enough so..?" He paused. "Do you have anyone else that can come?" He asked.

Carolina thought. "Well, the newcomers can, i suppose but-"

"Bring them!" The solider pleaded. "We need-what? Okay, okay. Bring three" He specified.

"Understood" Carolina nodded. Grabbing her phone and running out of the hospital, despite the pain brought onto her by her previous injury. "We'll be right there..."

"Thank you miss" The voice concluded. "You guys really are heroes..."

 


	55. Chapter 54, Heated Debates

"What!?" They all said in unison.

"Listen, i know this might sound crazy..." Carolina began. "...but the reds and blues are kind of war heroes. They need to go back to Chorus and the people there think they might not be enough. So, they requested that i get more people on board. Three to be exact. You were the only people i could think of" She told. "Unfortunately..." She added, whispering. "What do you say?"

"I'll go" They all said at the same time, before looking at eachother glaring.

Carolina blinked. "Well, you can't all go. I was told three so i'm only bringing three. How about you state why you should go and i'll decide who comes?" Carolina smiled weakly, trying to hide her annoyance that this would take longer than expected. They all nodded at her words. "Good. Now lets see, who should go first?" 

A silence passed before they all blurted out; "Dibs!"

"Okay then..." Carolina groaned, frustrated. "How about i decide?" She questioned, no-one brave enough to challenge her. "Hey, you! Boy with the pink armor! You can go first!" She decided. 

Zachary walked up. "Thanks" She fake-smiled. "But i'm a girl!" She added, hissing. Carolina rolled her eyes. "So, my names Zachary and-okay, so for one, i am the smartest person here. My only downside is that i can be a bit of a... bitch" She admitted. Leo and Cross laughed in the background. "But i wanna improve my skills!" She stated. "I was sent to blood valley because i wasn't that good of a fighter, yet i want to prove them wrong!" She beamed. "I already am trying my hardest to get a degree in something, but if i can save Columbia-"

"Chorus" Carolina corrected. 

"Whatever. If i save this place then i can show them how good i really am and make them send me back to earth!" She smirked. "Sides, if you're lying about all of this i'll still be away from Diancie and company and please, that would make my life ten times better just by that alone..." She told. Carolina could respect that. "That is why you should bring me..." She finished up. "Please!" She said after, almost begging.

Carolina felt sympathy. She knew what it was like to spend nearly every second with idiots. "Interesting. Now, how about you? In the pink and blue armor?" She turned to face the soldier of which she was referring too.

Seeing that Carolina was facing her direction, Honey-Lemon sprung up and took off her helmet. Revealing light blonde hair and adorable green eyes. She hopped up and down excitedly. "Aww, that is so lovely dovely that you'd go for me second! Names Honey-Lemon!" She grinned. "Anyways, i would love to go because it sounds so amazing! Chorus sounds so magical and if anyones there thats just as nice as you, well... its even better!" She made a small squeaking sound of joy. "ITS SO AMAZING THAT I COULD JUST SCREAM!" As she said that, the group behind her covered their ears. At first, Carolina didn't understand why until Honey-Lemon screamed loudly. "AAAAAAHHH!!!" It sounded like she was being murdered or that she was witnessing someone elses murder. When she finished, Honey-Lemon gave a thumbs up to Carolina. "So, what do you think? Can i come!?" She asked happily. 

"I'll think about it" Carolina stated, bitter over her ears hurting. 

"Yay!" Honey-Lemon smiled and jumped back into the crowd. 

"Why must it always be idiots..." Carolina muttered. "Red one with purple stripe" The soldier perked up at hearing her description. "You come up" Carolina ordered.

Diancie stepped up, hands on hips and a devilish smirk plastered on her face."Diancie is pleasured to meet you!" She shook hands with Carolina, though her look suggested she would decieve someone at any moment somehow. "You should pick Diancie because she is the best soldier here!" She told. Carolina sighed, already annoyed with the other red-head. She hated people who spoke in third person. "For one, thy has cared greatly for red team! Only threatening to kill them all five times over the course of a month" She said matter-of-factly. "Number two, Diancie has by herself, captured the blue flag fifteen times!" She informed. "And thirdly..." She paused dramatically. "Diancie is hot!" She concluded, taking a bow. 

Carolinas left eye twitched. "Wait, what was that last one?" She stared at Diancie awkwardly. Heck, Carolina was even blushing she was that flabbergasted. Diancie gave her a confused look. 

"Ah! Diancie sees!" She raised a hand. "About her being hot..?" Carolina nodded. "Yes, unfortunately that is the case but thy is a very honest soul!" She gestured to herself. "Thy's armors cooling equipment has failed so many times it is the broken. Due to that, Diancie is hot" She sighed sadly. 

"Right" Carolina looked down at the floor. "Next!" She almost-shouted. They all looked at her. Carolina groaned as soon as she remembered she was the one that was deciding. "One with the white armor" She chose. 

"Okay. So..." As soon as he spoke Carolina recognised one thing. His voice was monotone and emotionless. It would be impossible to decipher his thoughts and what he truly felt about something. That could come in handy. "I'm Chaos" He introduced himself. "And I don't really know who you are... or who the reds and blues are. I've been here for like five minutes... six minutes maybe" He wasn't even looking at her. His eyes gazing towards the sky. "But i think i'd be the best choice, because all of these ass-holes have probably done something to annoy these beds and rues or whatever they were called..." He shrugged. "Yet, i just came here so i'm on good terms with all of them and if it makes you feel better, if you hate someone i will happily snap their neck without remorse, for you" Carolina couldn't believe this. This guy seemed like he would do anything he was asked. "Except if you want me to kill Zero..." Hearing his name, Zero perked up smiling brightly. 

"Best one so far..." Carolina said honestly. "Well, you mentioned someone called Zero. Are they here?" She asked. A guy in the back raised his hand. "Okay, you go" She instructed. 

He walked up and smiled weakly. "R-right" He stuttered. "So, i like-how about-no, thats not going to cut it... maybe i could-YEAH. That makes sens- does it though? What way could i present my reasons that makes me sound cool? Or-just talk! You can do this... one, two, three..." He began counting up. His talking soon becoming fast paced rambles. He was sweating now, going into full on panic mode. "Well i-damn, why didn't i write anyth-because i didn't kn-yet, maybe there was a sign-OR!" He was answering his own concerns before he even said them. Chaos, unexpectedly, grabbed the others hand; squeezing it tightly. Zero took a deep breath. "I'd like to do it because i am a good soldier and w-will do my best!" He saluted nervously. 

Carolina thought for a moment. "Good" She finally answered, lying. She felt as though it was better to lie than to tell the truth in this situation. The kid seemed like he was a nervous wreck. "How much do we have left?" She asked herself. "Ah. Four" She replied to her own question. "Well, how about you?" She pointed to one of them.

"Me?" The guy cocked his head to the side. Carolina nodded. "Okay. I'm Daniel and-"

"Daniel? Aren't you the guy who knocked out Nebraska?" Carolina questioned. 

The mans eyes widened. "I have no idea what you're talking about" He avoided eye-contact. "You know what, i don't wanna go anyway" He lied. "I'll just stand back here" He took a step back behind the others. "There, now i won't waste your time" He growled. 

"I know you're the one that helped us Daniel" Carolina informed. "Because of that, that kind of wants me to bring you more" She stated. He perked up at that. "Maybe re-consider your options. If i call on you, you're coming. You know that right? Out of everyone here... lets just say i have faith in your abilities" Daniel smiled at that, recieving a playful nudge from Mike. "The guy nudging him!" Carolina called. "Your reasoning?"

"Mine" He bit his lip. "Well, theres you and you're pretty hot" He winked. Carolina looked at him, stern. "Oh c'mon!" He rolled his eyes. "We shared a kiss! Don't give me that look" She continued to glare at him. "Fine" He accepted defeat. "Is spin the bottle the only way i can get anything close to a girlfriend?" He muttered to himself. "Well!" He spoke up. "The point is, i can hit a target! Just dont ask me to do it" Carolina raised an eyebrow. "You might be thoroughly disapointed"

"I think i've heard enough from you" Carolina told. He stomped off. "Jeez, how much times passed? It seemed urgent so we have to hurry. Last two!" The final two looked at her confused. "To spare time, you guys need to do yours together. So, i'm counting you as one person. Guess this means i'm bringing four..." She grumbled.

"What! Seriously?" Leo and Cross both facepalmed. Zachary snorted and Diancie chuckled, saying something along the lines of; Diancie finds this quite amusing!

"Well hurry up" Carolina ordered. "I don't have all day" 

"Okay, fine! I'm Leo, and pick me because i don't steal someones custard when they go to the bathroom!" Leo said, staring daggers at Cross. The others groaned. Carolina could tell from that this was something they'd seen before.

Though, that didn't stop her from furrowing her brows in confusion and letting out a startled: "Huh?"

"And i'm Cross!" The other announced, annoyed. "And pick me 'cause i don't leave perfectly good custard laying around when i know that certain person has 'custard' as their favourite food!" He retorted. 

"ALSO PICK ME, BECAUSE I APOLOGISE AFTER EATING SAID CUSTARD" Leo replied sharply. "If i did take it that is..."

"Y'KNOW WHAT LEO?" Cross leaned closer. Leo clenched his fists. "You should really consider that if anyone did take your custard, perhaps it was karma? For maybe, stealing a certain someones chocolate waffle earlier in the week?" He emphasized those last words. Carolina understood immediately this was an argument about an earliar dispute the two had had. 

"WELL MAYBE THEY ATE THE WAFFLES BECAUSE THEY'RE MAD AT YOU FOR NEVER TALKING TO THEM ANYMORE!" Leo pointed an accusing finger. "Despite knowing they love you!"

"Well, maybe said person loves them back but doesn't know how to deal with it LEONARDO" Cross poked out his tongue. They blinked at eachother before going on a full-on heated discussion which brought up earliar problems between the two boys.

"Did they just say..." Carolinas eyes drifted over to the rest of the group. 

"Nevermind it" Zachary shrugged it off. "They'll never figure out their feelings" She told. 

Carolina sighed. "Righ-"

"SO!" Honey-Lemon interrupted her. "Have you decided yet!?" She beamed. 

Carolina nodded. "I believe i have" She stated. The group listened intently. Even Leo and Cross stopped their bickering to hear. "I choose-"

\---

"How did i not realise this!?" Grif shouted, angry. 

"I dunno hun" Mackenzie admitted. "I mean, its not everyday you find someone as awesome as me" She complimented herself. "Besides, that doesn't explain how you're heroically here. What happened to the colony?" Mackenzie asked, curious. Silence. But, unfortunately, that was more then enough for Mackenzis to understand. "No. No, no, no" She stomped her foot. "They didn't-"

"They did" Grif answered. Not even looking at her but at the ground. Wash watched from afar. "Alien attack. Fucking insane one it was too..."

"Greens?"

"Shot by an alien when he was being a look-out" 

"Lucas?" 

"Stabbed in the chest" 

"Cola?" 

"Tripped over the wire heading over to the safe-zone before getting shot multiple times through the back" He almost chuckled at that. Almost.

"Double-O2?" Mackenzie was greeted by silence. "What about him?" She walked over to Grif, resting her hands on his shoulders. "Grif, ya better tell me what happened!" She demanded.

"Dead" He finally mustered up.

Mackenzie walked away from him, punching a wall to Wash's surprise. "When the fuck did this happen?" The words left Wash shocked. Despite being a bystander in this talk, he knew very well that it had to be serious for Mackenzie to swear. Especially, if Caboose wasn't even involved in the matter. Almost like he was giving time for Wash to think, Grif hadn't even made a sound. "WHEN THE FUCK DID THIS HAPPEN!?" She screamed. 

"You won't like the answer" Grif hinted. 

"What do you mean by that hun?" Mackenzie asked. Her angry tone becoming soft and sad. 

"It was just after you left" He told. Mackenzie stood back. "The aliens outnumbered us. We had all taken one route to block them off. But there wasn't enough of us" He clenched his fists. "Your old route was the one they got into" He said, not even caring enough to give her a glance. "You might say, 'if ya stick to one place for the rest of your life you're never truly moving forward' but i doubt you care enough to know what you left behind" He told coldly. Wash blinked in amazement. He knew Grif, and Grif was one to blame people. This would not end well. "Heck, I bet you had no problem leaving Caboose" He added harshly, making Mackenzie glare. "You care about fucking no-one"

"I do hun!" Mackenzie stepped forward. "I care about a lot of things! A lot of people! So what if i left them behind? They could take care of themselves! Especially Caboose, so don't dare you bring him into this" She warned, waving her fist around in a threatening manner. "Besides, how did you not die if this attack was so bad?" Grif made an annoyed grunt. "Sleep'n on the job? Like ya always did?" She teased.

Grif so badly wanted to punch her. "Stop talking bitch" 

"You could've handled that route on your own, but was too busy catching Z's to care!" She accused. "You don't need to blame me!" She informed. 

"I can if its your fault" Grif said under his breath, though Mackenzie caught what he said. 

"Really?" She cocked her head in disgust. "You're really blaming me, especially considering that moving forward and leaving stuff behind is what you're all about" Grif flinched due to that comment. "Yeah, don't think i've forgotten about stuff you've done. You've told me hun, and i'm not one to forget!" She reminded. "For example, just to prove how you leave things behind-"

"Mackenzie, choose your next words very carefully!" Grif advised.

She chuckled darkly. "You may claim that i left Caboose without any information at all but..." She hesitated to call him out on this but she fought her concerned thoughts. "But i can accuse ya with confirmation from you that you left your own sister behind without as much as a goodbye" She said, cruelly.

"Sister?" Wash couldn't help but ask. 

Grif started walking towards Mackenzie. Slowly raising his fists. "You are going to regret that you said that" He cautioned, as he was half-way over to her. 

"What do ya mean hu-" Mackenzie was interrupted when Grif went to punch her. Thinking fast, she grabbed his arm and threw him over her shoulders; slamming him onto the cold floor. She turned to look at him fearful. Letting out a breath of relief seeing he was fine. Angry, but fine. "Hun, i get ya want to blame me for what happened" She said, understanding his turmoil. "Knowing full well the... truth of who is at fault" She stared at him. "Sometimes its hard knowing if you could have changed things. How they went, and how they will go" She told, her eyes sparkling with wisdom. "All you need is something to ground you. Away from harsh reality" 

"S-shut up" Grif said, pain in his back. 

"For me thats Caboose, and for you thats Simmons" She smirked playfully, chirping out the last word in a sing-song like manner. Mackenzie got up and upon realising that Wash was still there. (contemplating as he had his hands close to his gun) She crossed her arms. "Don't give me that look hun, atleast i didn't burn spaghetti!" She smiled. 

Wash let down his guard. "How did you know about th-"  

"Speaking of which. Three, two, one!" She counted down happily before Simmons spoke up from the kitchen. 

"Dinners ready!" Simmons told, cheerfully. 

"Right on seahorse schedule" She nodded in regards to her accuracy. 

\---

"What do you mean 'who the fuck is this'" Delaware spat, annoyed at her teammate.

"I mean what you think i mean bitch" Felix told. "I have never seen this idiot in my life. Ugh, i can't believe you!" Felix stated in frustration. Delaware blinked in confusion. "So let me get this straight, i want to kill someone in colourful armor whos an idiot and you get me this!" He pointed a finger at her. "Seriously?" He added in disbelief. 

"Sorry for getting you exactly what you wished for" She said sarcastically. "Listen, theres gotta be some relation she has to them. You!" Sister perked up. "Who the fuck are you!?" She demanded, expecting hesitation from the brunette as she wondered if she should talk or not. She didn't get that. 

"Um, isn't it obvious?" She asked in a mocking voice. "My bros here" 

"Bro?" Felix liked the sound of that. "As in, brother?"

"Duh" She retaliated. Felix crossed his fingers, hoping for a certain aqua soldier.

"Who?" He asked hopeful.

"Uh, Grif? Don't you like, know that?" She questioned. "I mean, you're in armor sooooo...." She trailed off. 

"Well, thats no Tucker but still just perfect for a hostage situation" He smiled sinisterly, sharing a knowing glance with Delaware. "So, Grif sister, i hope you're happy because lucky you, are going to be a part of something really special" He told devilishly. 

"Sweet!" She grinned. "Lets hope its like the last time i was tied up. People always said that two people can't make out if they're both tied up but i sure proved them wrong didn't i?" She said happily. 

"Yeah" Delaware and Felix agreed. "Wait, what!?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually don't know who out of the newcomers to keep. Mackenzies coming no matter what and Jay and Neon i have plans for ;) So what do you think? I have no idea. Leave me suggestions please. :)
> 
> -FanficNinja


	56. Chapter 55, Hello And Goodbye

_He knows this isn't going well. Shes starting to lose control of it, so he holds her tighter. All he sees is her and white. He doesn't know when they'll pop up, whether its tomorrow or the day after that. Heck, he has no idea where either. Everytime shes done it hes taken notice and every time involved some close yet still far area that she ends up at. Then again, he knows this could be different._

_Hes only done this three times with her before, and its scary. They could die here in this white and cold abyss made up of nothingness but themselves. A seperate reality, if you will. Then again, some could say it didn't matter considering  the soldiers already thought they were dead anyway. It wasn't that hard to trick them. Only one noticed something was off and they didn't even choose to investigate further._

_Oh no, shes starting to shake. He tries to console her. They're almost there. What may seem like days to another soul is something entirely different to them. Where they are, its been minutes. Where those soldiers are... its probably been days. Maybe even a month if possible._

_They just have to hold on a minute longer. They can do this._

\---

"Wash!" Carolina burst through blue bases door, catching Donut, Grif, Wash, Lopez, Caboose, Church and Simmons seated at a table eating dinner. Mackenzie suspiciously away from them as she sat on the couch eating her way through a plate of ice-cream sandwiches which looked like she had just whipped them up. "We need to go back to Chorus!"

Donut spat out his soup. Lopez handed him a napkin before looking at Carolina confused. [What? Why?]

"Carolina, what are you doing awake?" Wash asked. "We thought you were going to be unconcious for atleast another day. Doesn't anything hurt?" He questioned. She ignored his question. "Well, lets not dwell on that if you don't want too then..." He said, only slightly annoyed. "But, what do you mean we need to get back to Chrous?"

"Chorus?" Mackenzie spoke up from the couch. "I read about that. Wasn't there a whole gumball group of people over there for a long time trying to find some alien tech?" She asked. They all nodded. "Hey, i served them for a while. Couldn't find anything though. Real shame too" She shrugged. "As much as i do like a goosey good shotgun, damn would i prefer an energy sword" She told.

"Wait, you worked for Hargrove?" Carolina questioned.

"Yeah. Wasn't the nicest guy though..." She informed. "I've basically worked in every squad in my career now that i think about it. I once took part in a civil war with this tin guy, helped these six friends defeat some energy absorbing beast, met these twins who were fighting this shape in a tophat, joined a team of four colour coordinated girls to defeat this woman with a leg bracelet and then made friends with this kid to help defeat aliens with his friends who're also aliens and hes also basically his mum" They stared at her stunned as she finished. "I really gotta figure out what i want in life"

"Okay, well you guys need to come here. Something urgents happening in Chorus. I already have three other people coming to carry some extra punch. Maybe four... i dont know. Mackenzie!" She turned to face the blonde. "Can you stay here and watch blue base?" Carolina asked.

"What!?" Mackenzie jumped up. "No way hun am i letting my cous' go into what seems like something really dangerous without my supervision" She stated. "I'm coming"

"Well you can't, so deal with it" Carolina said coldly.

"I advise you let me come, or i'll snap your neck" Mackenzie cautioned. Carolina glared at her. She was about to talk when Mackenzie raised a hand to shush her. "Listen hun, you mentioned three other people right?" Carolina nodded. "They must be the newcomers then..." Carolina nodded again. "Well guess what, i'm better then **all** of them. Wouldn't be the wisest decision to bring them and not me, would it?" She pointed out. Carolina stared. Mackenzie did have a point.

"Fine" Carolina snarled. "You can come"

"Good choice" The blonde winked teasingly.

"Church, can you go to the ship and provide energy for it?" Carolina asked. Church groaned and nodded lazily.

" _Fine_. But seriously, why can't Delta do it? That fuck hasn't done anything lately" He stated.

"Listen, at the moment i have no idea where Delta is. Either Yorks got him or hes doing his own thing. Compared to hu-you guys, Delta is pretty smart. He probably knows something we don't. He'll pop up eventually after hes gathered some important information" She explained, turning away. "Atleast, i hope thats the case"

Caboose perked up. "The green guy? He was taken by-"

"Guess whos back dudes!" Tucker shouted as himself and York ran into the room, his first instinct to give Wash a kiss but noticing some people were in the room that didn't know he stopped himself before making a scene. "Whats going on?"

"We're going to Chorus" Carolina said almost instantly to the aqua soldier.

 _"Aaaaand_ we're already leaving..." Tucker frowned.

"Why do we need to go 'Lina?" York questioned.

"Chorus is in danger. I can tell that its serious. They need us" She told.

"Oh right, Cabby told me you guys are heroes on that planet!" Mackenzie remembered, ruffling her cousins hair. "Thats my Cabby, going off and saving the galaxies"

"It was more _us_ really" Carolina stated, recieveing glares from almost everyone.

Mackenzie furrowed her brows at her. "I know what i said" She retorted before gazing over at Caboose. "I do not like her" She told honestly. "Anyways York, now that ya here Carolina said something about you maybe having Delta? Cabby said hes a little green guy. Like a goblin?" She chuckled at the possibility. "Besides that, do ya have him?" She asked.

"Delta? I thought **you** had him" He pointed to Caboose. "D said he needed you for something"

"Thats what i tried to tell you earliar!" Caboose crossed his arms. "Felix took Delta! You guys never listen..." He pouted and crossed his arms childishly.

"WHAT!?" They all cried out.

\---

"What do you want?" Delta asked, only showing his annoyance slightly.

"Oh Delta, we want you to be a camera" Felix mocked. Delta cocked his head up to look at him. "I mean, hostage tapes are the pinochle of bad guy ordeals and... well. We have _her"_ Their gazes fixated to the right, where Sister was tied up on a chair. "Mind making a recording?" He requested.

"I am sorry, i do not have that ability" He lied. "Perhaps instead you could-"

"You know for the logical one, you are the most idiotic" Felix spat. "We know you can record. You're the one who recorded all of Epsilons messages. Speaking of which, we need those for blackmail" He added, smirking. Delta was about to speak up but Felix stood up, making himself more intimidating. "Everyone got the same message. However, he made more didn't he? For everyone, and you hid them. How come?" Felix questioned.

Delta hesitated to answer. "I have no idea what you're talking about"

"Liar!" Delaware hissed, as she finally came into the room after connecting Delta to the television screen. "You can't lie when we have the proof" She informed, pressing a button on a remote.

_"Hey Tucker, so i know you're probably pissed at me. I'd be too. But, understand okay? This time i need to go. I'm leaving private messages for everyone, okay? Mainly because you guys have issues and you need to sort them out. For you, its just... well... try! You're too cocky. If i can die after all this, you can too! Don't make my sacri-what i did stop you from thinking it can happen to just about anyone. Anyone can-"_

It made a small clicking sound as Delware pressed a button on the remote to skip. She was muttering something about them being too long.

_"Grif, you probably need the most help. I have no idea how to tell you this, since you hardly listen to anyone. Even your boyfriend Simmons. Ha! Can't get me for that i'm dea....yeah, that isn't as fun as i thought it would be to say. Just exercise okay? Eat healthier. I know its hard for you dude, but really, you can die. Would you rather die in a place like this or-"_

Another clicking sound.

_"Wash, what to say to you? You don't really need much help. I guess i can say i'm sorry? Wow, i'm dying and i still sound like an asshole. Either way, i've seen your dreams and you've got to let go of some things. York and North are dead and they aren't coming back. Same with Maine, heck you saw that fucker die! Deserved it too... still remains the coolest thing these idiot reds have ever done, am i righ-"_

It begun changing through messages at a rapid speed as Delaware kept on pressing the button.

_"So Simmons, i know you think you're being sneaky with you're panic attacks but you're not. We're worried about-"_

_"Sarge, i get that you hate Grif and all, but what about Simmons? Donut? You need to show them-"_

_"Hey sis, Carolina... you really need to relax. Let things go. You and Wash kinda both have that problem now that i-"_

_"Donut. You're... surprisingly good? But just know, after i'm gone people are going to be... sad. Perhaps you could-"_

_"Hey Lopez, can us A.I.'s have a quick chat? For one, do you even like them? As much as you say you don't, remember that-"_

_"Doc, please, understand you need to quit the whole pacifist thing. I know you're a medic but-"_

Delaware put the remote down on the last one.

_"Caboose... i'm really sorry. Heh, i sound more sorry then i did with Wash and i basically fucked him up for life! What is wrong with me? Haha. Anyways, i'm sorry i wasn't the best 'best friend' to you. At first i thought you were-well, someone i hated. But then after a while, it wasn't like you grew on me but more like... i started appreciating you for what you'd do. Make pancakes in the morning, give me breakfast in bed, look after me when i was sick. Well that last one you didn't do well so... thats not the point! The point is, i don't know if you have any family left or consider anyone else family but- i'm here for you! I love you Caboose... in a friend way that is. I dont love love you or anything. No, that would be stupid...... really stupid. Well, anyways, i know you dont like it but, goodbye Caboose. Out of everyone, i hated you the lea- i liked you the most. Bye buddy"_

Thats where it ended. "Now why on earth would you hide something like that?" Delaware smirked.

Delta sighed. "Some were wrong. Logic dictated that Church would come back. It also said York would and maybe North aswell... there were too many problems with them. If i got rid of one, people would ask questions. There were also others that were corrupted. Kimball, lietunents and even Felix had one which was broadcasted live to his helmet feed as he fell that has since been unplayable" Delaware turned to Felix, who looked away as soon as Delta mentioned that little fact. "If i showed any of them one, chances were others would start to get corrupted aswell on Chorus's systems" They furrowed their brows at him, figuring out his lie quite quickly. "I was simply waiting for a time Church wouldn't come back to play them"

"If you want to sound truthful, then don't present every reason it could have been" Felix snarled. "We may never get your true reason but heres the thing" He paused. "If they had gotten their messages, chances were they would have all turned themselves around"

"Yes, but some have still reversed. Grif is no longer at an unhealthy state and Tucker has been much more serious lately. Lopez is even considering them his friends aswell. Those signs-"

"Listen, Simmons still has panic attacks, Sarge is still a brat to his team, Donuts too happy for this war, Wash is stuck in the past and Carolinas basically not changed at all" He told. "Thats the majority"

Delta looked down, before answering in a monotone voice. "I did what i had to do"

There was a beat between them before a devilish smirk plastered on Felix's face. "And what you did was idiotic" He stated, walking out the room. "We'll be back later for the recording" He winked. "Delaware" She followed suit, leaving the room. "See ya later" He closed the door. Delta sighed in silence.

"I know it was wrong of me. There were fifteen other possible paths but nothings getting in the way of me and Epsilon. I'm making sure of that..."

 


	57. Chapter 56, On Our Way

"WHAT!?" They all cried out.

"They've got Delta!? How did that happen!?" Carolina questioned. Caboose shrugged, not wanting to be honest as Carolina would be mad at him. "Augh, this is just great. He has so much of our information. Well... we can't let that compromise the mission. We need to go still. C'mon, leave your food and lets go!" Grif glared at her. "What do you love more idiot? Your friends over on Chorus or food" He stayed silent, thinking. "Oh seriously!? Just come anyway!" She ordered.

"Wait 'Lina" York grabbed her arm. "We're still going? What about Delta? This isn't-"

"Oh for-York, we need to go over there and help" She stated. "Felix works for Hargrove, doesn't he?" They all nodded. "Exactly! Though i wasn't told, i can rightfully assume that hes the one whos attacking Chorus. Also, Deltas no use to Felix without us here" She pointed to the ground. "So, give me one reason why we should stay!"

"Because Delta is our friend..." York answered.

It was silent for a moment. "York..." She clenched her fists. "A.I.'s aren't our friends. We shouldn't treat them like friends either. It would corrupt us to do so" She told.

"Wait, what? Where did you get that from?" He blinked.

"Because of Nebraska" She informed, furrowing her brows at him. The room was dead quiet. Realising this, she spoke up again. "Lets not focus on that right now, lets just go!" She instructed, walking off. She heard multiple groans as they followed her. York tearing up a little. They had no idea why though. Suddenly, before Carolina could get past the door,  Donut jumped infront of her.

"Hold on!" He pleaded.

"Donut, what are you doing?" She questioned.

"Well, me, Grif, Simmons and Lopez are in blue team now..." He reminded.

"So?" She cocked her head.

"We need blue armor!" He told. "If i'm walking by, people are just going to assume that i'm in red team; with this light-ish red armor and all that" He gestured to himself. Nearly everyone rolled their eyes. Carolina was going to interject but he kept going. "Remind you, i am a man of style. I've been in this for _so_ long theres no mystery to my look. If you won't change our armor, I'm not going" He crossed his arms.

Carolina looked over at Wash. "We _don't_ need him in the group right?"

"Well..." Wash thought for a moment. "He **does** have a good arm"

Carolina sighed. "Fine. You can have new armor"

"Ha! All my years of tossing are finally paying off!" Donut beamed happily. "Now..." He smirked at Grif, Simmons and Lopez. "Lets get you guys changed!"

They all stared at him, going a little red. Grif groaned and he looked down to the floor. "Well, this is going to suck"

\---

"If Kai doesn't come back any time soon, we're leaving without her" Arizona said, an annoyed look plastered on her face. "Seriously, _whats_ taking her so long?"

North shrugged. "Maybe she just has a lot of stuff and-"

"If that were the case, then she would have brought it with her the first time" Arizona interrupted. "Sides, despite her lack of intelligence she wouldn't forget this much stuff. Shes not **that** bad" She said truthfully. Though, she soon analysed her own thoughts. What if Kai really was that bad? Well, if she was, that meant that if they did leave her here Arizona would care a lot less.

"Well, even so, she might just be taking her time" Hawaii considered. "After all, this is where we found her. It could be like a home to her. She might not want to leave it!" She said sadly, taking a massive bite of the ice-cream she was holding. "I was starting to like her too... it would be sad if she stayed here"

"Speak for yourself" Arizona spat.

"Maybe she doesn't want to hurry up because she thinks the ships broken" Denmark mentioned. "I hadn't spruced it up 'till _after_ she left" He said, smiling. "But now that i think of it, birch would've been better" He grinned, laughing at his own terrible joke. Everyone stared at him.

"I don't get it" Hawaii tilted her head to the side.

Denmark pouted at that. "You freelancers are no fun" He said coldly. "You're lucky ah' didn't kill you guys when i first met ya. Good thing i'm a friendly guy and not like the rest of my squad. All kill, kill and murder, murder" He chuckled. "But atleast they got my jokes. Infact, the jokes literally killed them" He winked. They shook their heads at him. "Too soon to joke about a dead squad? Fine, fine" He muttered the last bit.

"I thought you liked your old squad Denmark?" North raised an eye-brow. "Why laugh at their deaths?"

"Takes the pain away" He admitted. "Also distracts me from wanting to get revenge by killing you guys" He mumbled. "Remember though, i'm not fighting with you despite being a friend. Just _for_ you so that you can take me back to my old post. If i really was on your side i'd change my name to some sort of state" He reminded. "But i'm not in that **STATE** of mind yet" He smiled. They facepalmed.

"Well, i do agree with Arizona we'll have to leave soon" North commented. "Lets just hope she doesn't take any longer" He sighed, looking over at the clock.

\---

"Now _this_ is my colour!" Donut said, looking at his new armor in the mirror.

"I don't know Donut" Simmons said nervously. "Are you sure Sarge would be okay with us doing this?"

"What do you care if he does?" Grif asked sternly. Simmons looked away.

It was silent for a while until Donut came between the two. "C'mon guys, lets not fight. Besides, the colours suit you! And when Lopez is done putting his on, i'm sure his will look cool too" He smirked. The others hesitantly nodded. Grif was wearing teal armor and Simmons a lapis coloured one. Donut sporting a sky-coloured one as they did not have periwinkle. "Speaking of which, i'll go check on Lopez. Hes sure taking his time..." He said, walking off. He pushed the curtains to the side and saw Lopez, helmet off and wearing navy blue armor. God, did Lopez look human.

Lopez looked up. [Donut? What are you doing in here?]

"Well... you _were_ taking a while so i came to check up on you!" Donut said, cheerful as always. "What _was_ taking you so long anyways?"

[Just thinking about Sarge] The robot answered firmly.

"Really?" Donut was intriqued.

[Yeah] Lopez nodded. [As much as i hate to admit it, i'm missing the old coot. Hes sort of like a father to me which _god,_ do i hate saying but... its true. When we left thats what he said, right?] Donut stayed quiet. [He's basically my dad... and the fact that thats... correct, bothers me]

"Why?" Donut took a step towards him.

[Because i don't want to be like that idiot] Lopez spat. [That good for nothing jerk is a moron and if i'm his son then that means i take after him. I don't want that] He told. [I don't want to be like him]

Donut laughed a little. "Just because your his son Lopez doesn't mean you'll be like him!"

Lopez raised an eye-brow. [What do you mean? Thats how humans _work._ They-]

"No, Lopez!" Donut giggled. "Not everyone ends up like their dad. I mean, take Simmons for example. His dad was a jerk and didn't care about anything other then himself, and is Simmons a jerk?" Donut asked. Lopez shook his head. "Exactly. Heck, Grifs dad left him and he ended up with two mums. He didn't even take after _them_. Well, except his non-caring attitude. That was from his mum"

[How do you know all this?] Lopez couldn't help but be curious. [I didn't...]

"Listen, the only person who doesn't drink in red base is me. Everyone else does. You've got to remember Lopez, though our military ages are different from our actual ages, all of us are allowed to drink" Donut explained. "And when they do drink... and they get into their sad phase and talk about their problems, i'm there"

[Huh] Lopez smiled.

A moment of silence passed between them. "Feeling better?" Donut questioned.

[Yes, actually] Lopez said surprised, trying to think of something to say. [Well, um... _thanks_ Donut? For the help, i mean]

"No problem" Donut shrugged. "Now lets go! Chorus is in danger and we need to go save it!" He cheered, skipping off.

Lopez walked after him. However, he paused as in the right corner of his screen it changed from 'Pink idiot' to 'Crush'. Noticing this he jumped. That couldn't be. [W-what?] He accidentally said aloud.

"Lopez?" Donut turned around to face him. "Are you okay?"

[Yeah...] He lied. [I'm fine. Just... a little spooked]

"Why?"

[Not important] He informed. Donut gave a concerned look before leaving the room. Lopez leaving soon after. He needed something familiar. This was too weird for him. Something normal, c'mon. Suddenly, he stopped. As did Donut as they saw Grif and Simmons kissing, helmets off. [Oh you've got to be kidding me!] Lopez glared.

Donut however smiled brightly. _"Oooh,_ what happened when we were gone?" He chirped.

"Okay dudes are you done, Carolinas getting antsy and..." Tucker stopped as he walked in and saw the two reds kissing. He grinned devilishly. "Called it" Just after he said that, Mackenzie walked in and looked over at Tucker surprised. "I knew they'd get together soon enough" He bragged.

"Wait..." She pointed at Grif and Simmons. "Those two weren't always a couple?"

"Yup" Tucker nodded. Mackenzie stared at them, looking absolutely dumbfounded. She then laughed. "Exactly" Tucker agreed with her giggles. Mackenzie looked up at them smirking.

"You clueless A-holes"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, i really have no idea which newcomers to keep. So, if you guys have any ideas please tell me. Also yeah. This whole time Mackenzie thought they were a thing. Wouldn't you? XD Point is, this story is ending soon... BUT IT WON'T BE THE END! Does that make sense..?
> 
> If you haven't noticed this story has been added to a series so yes! There will be a sequel after this is done. I'm thinking ending this when they get to Chorus and thats where the next one starts. If you're wondering what the next ones gonna be called i've got some ideas. (What Are The Chances, Return To Chorus, What In This World etc. If you have any ideas i'm open to suggestions) 
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading and please leave a comment! 
> 
> -FanficNinja


	58. Chapter 57, What Are We?

"I don't know Donut" Simmons said nervously. "Are you sure Sarge would be okay with us doing this?"

"What do you care if he does?" Grif asked sternly. Simmons looked away.

It was silent for a while until Donut came between the two. "C'mon guys, lets not fight. Besides, the colours suit you! And when Lopez is done putting his on, i'm sure his will look cool too" He smirked. The others hesitantly nodded. Grif was wearing teal armor and Simmons a lapis coloured one. Donut sporting a sky-coloured one as they did not have periwinkle. "Speaking of which, i'll go check on Lopez. Hes sure taking his time..." He said, walking off, leaving Simmons and Grif alone.

"So... Grif...." Simmons stuttered, trying to think of anything to say. He was failing miserably. The room descended into silence for a while, leaving the two staring at eachother. "This is... awkward?" The soldier admitted. Grif nodded. "About what... happened. On the roof. A-are we...?" He thought for a moment. "You know? That" He made a gesture with his hands.

Grif shrugged. "I don't know dude" He sighed. "I really don't know"

Simmons looked away from him. "About... me... panicking. It wasn't because of you, it was... well..." Simmons searched for his words. "I don't want to talk about it, really. B-but, just know t-that i..." He took a deep breath. Grif listened intently. "Its okay because... i like you too? And i k-know you might not care because of how i r-reacted and..." He was tearing up. "I kind of want us too... maybe... if its o-okay and stuff... to, um..."

"Get together?" Grif asked.

"Y-yeah..." Simmons smiled weakly.

Grif wasn't usually a person to act by instincts. Heck, he wasn't known to act at all. But there was something about Simmons smile that made him so happy he had too. Without any warning he kissed the other soldier. Despite his eyes being closed Grif knew that Simmons was blushing. Before long though, Simmons pushed away. "Simmons?" Grif sounded disappointed.

"I can't..." Simmons told.

"What? Why not?" Grif blinked. "Dude, you're confusing me. Do you want this or not?"

Simmons clenched his fists but it wasn't out of anger. "I do but-"

"Then what the fuck!?" Grif shouted. "You say you like me but then you keep doing that. Sure, you might not want us to kiss yet, but you could atleast explain yourself" Grif stated. Simmons didn't say anything in response, he was over-run by shock. He didn't expect Grif to react like this. "Just tell me what you want!" He hissed.

"I want..." Simmons looked down. "I don't know what i want"

"Well, thats helpful isn't it?" Grif said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I've been patient Simmons, really i have. But even i have limits" He informed. "Can't you just... give me a _hint_...or something?" Grif almost begged.

"How can i give you a hint though if i don't know what i want? A hint would mean i know. I can't just-" Simmons stopped himself. "Listen Grif, i do like you. I just have _issues..._ with this sort of thing" He informed. "I may not know what i want out of this but thats not the problem..." He concluded.

 _"Issues?"_ Grif questioned, curious.

"I may have been a tad light on the subject of my... _father"_ He spoke the words like it scared him. "And i may have been lying about a lot of things in regards to my family" He said, sighing. "I don't get letters from my mum. Even when i say i do; its just my sister. Sometimes my brothers. My mum left us... my dad would um... me and my siblings ran away from him" As soon as he started it began tumbling out. "My dad had problems with _this_ kind of thing. He saw it as... well, i'm pretty sure you get it by now" The soldier sat down. "I haven't really let it go, i guess. Despite how much i want too"

Grif stood there, stunned. "Simmons... _Dick..."_ He felt like he needed to use Simmons first name in this situation. It was serious after all. "Get up"

"W-what?" Simmons looked up at him.

"You heard me" Grif offered his hand. "Get up" Simmons took it. Soon he was infront of Grif. They looked into eachother eyes. "Now, do what you feel"

"Huh?" Simmons sounded so confused. Granted, he was.

"You can kiss me, or you can not. You can maybe even punch me i don't care. Just do what you feel like. I won't mind" Grif shrugged. Simmons stared at him in silence and sighed. Grif closed his eyes, awaiting a punch. However, he was pleasantly surprised when instead, he felt Simmons lips on his own. It was funny. Despite how much they had kissed, Simmons had never really kissed him back so this was still kind of new. A good kind of new too. Simmons was a surprising good kisser.

[Oh you've got to be kidding me!] Lopez glared. Grif and Simmons disconnected and turned to see Lopez and Donut. _Shit._ Grif thought. Simmons was reddening at the cheeks.

Donut smiled brightly at them. _"Oooh,_ what happened when we were gone?" He chirped.

"Okay dudes are you done, Carolinas getting antsy and..." Tucker stopped as he walked in and saw the two reds kissing. He grinned devilishly. "Called it" After he said that, Mackenzie walked in and looked over at Tucker surprised. "I knew they'd get together soon enough" He bragged.

"Wait..." She pointed at Grif and Simmons. "Those two weren't always a couple?"

"Yup" Tucker nodded. Mackenzie stared at them, looking absolutely dumbfounded. She then laughed. "Exactly" Tucker agreed with her giggles. Mackenzie looked up at them smirking.

"You clueless A-holes"

\---

They walked out of the base; showing off their new armor. No-one really gave a crap. As they made their way to the airship, now with all their armor on (including the people who hadn't before) Mackenzie walked up to Carolina. "So hun, who'd ya bring?" She asked. "Out of the newcomers of course..." She added.

"Well..." Carolina thought for a moment. "I originally wanted to bring Chaos, Zachary and Daniel..." Mackenzie nodded. "...but then Daniel didn't want to come despite all my threats to shoot him and Chaos wanted Zero to come aswell. He tried to shoot _me_ when _i_ said no" Mackenzie chuckled at that. "Also turns out, as much as Zachary wants to come and _'prove'_ herself... she's not as smart as she sounds" Carolina groaned. "She never even passed basic traning. Which means technically, its against the **law** to bring her on the battle field"

"So... who'd you end up bringing?" Mackenzie asked.

"Them" Carolina sighed and pointed over to the airship, where four soldiers were waving. Mackenzie recognised them instantly. Diancie, Mike, Cross and Leo. "They're not even second best. They're just... not the _worst"_ She grumbled. "And that is **not** something to be proud of"

"Y'know, they're not _so_ bad hun... once you get to know 'em that is" Mackenzie grinned.

Carolina snorted. "I've heard that one before"

"So, uh, hun" Mackenzie began. "Can we bring Smith?" She motioned to the soldier who was now next to her.

"When did he get here?" Carolina questioned. "I thought all the lietunents left already...." She mumbled.

"He was always here hun" Mackenzie informed.

Carolina rolled her eyes. "Fine" She snarled. "But only because he'd end up in Chorus anyway" She told. Mackenzie seemed content with that. They slowly got into the airship, sitting down. "Church. How are the systems?" She asked. Church flashed into existence next to her, much smaller then before.

"Not so great, but we'll manage" He shrugged. "Just don't expect a not entirely shitty landing" He warned. "Okay everyone, get in your seats. As much as we hate rules, put on your seatbelts. Seriously, you could get really fucked up" He said, his voice now echoing around the room.

"Yeah no shit!" Grif yelled. "We've made that mistake before when we tried to beat the meta!"He reminded. "Just get on with it!"

"Right..." Church said annoyed. "Point is, we're taking off in-"

"Can i please get my peanuts?" Caboose requested.

"Oh for fu-CABOOSE!" Church shouted agrivated. "You can not have fucking peanuts! I made you some fucking trailmix before we got on here! I'll give it to you in a second!" He told. Caboose nodded.

"Did ya pack enough trailmix for me too hun?" Mackenzie butted in.

"Oh, what? Am i packing **everyones** lunches now?" Church growled.

"You didn't pack any lunches!?" Grif screamed. "What the fuck!"

"Oh my god, i can't take you guys anywhere" He muttered. "Point is, we're leaving. So you better have all your stuff because you cant go get it now" He concluded.

"Yeah, well maybe if you'd advertised this plane ride _properly_ we'd know you didn't pack any fucking food for us!" Grif retorted angrily.

"Plane ride? This isn't some holiday or-OH, fuck it!" He snapped, flashing out of sight. "Lets just get this over with fucktards"

"Asshole" Grif hissed.

\---

Tex crossed her arms and relaxed as she leaned on blue bases walls. Sarge walking up to her. "Hey. Have you seen my boys? I need to apologise..." He grumbled.

"No" She sighed. "But that might explain why those idiots are in an airship" They both turned to see an airship rising in the distance, before warping off into space. "I think they forgot us"

Sarge groaned. "I bet it was those dirty blues!"

Tex stared at him for a moment. "Have you changed at all in the last seven years?" She asked.

Sarge shrugged. "Nope"

Tex groaned. "Idiots"

 


	59. Chapter 58, Connections

"Caboose... for the last time, we don't have any peanuts" Church groaned. If he wasn't speaking through the ship and instead in his body, he would have facepalmed. Caboose had come all the way to the front of the ship just to start this discussion and Church was not having it. "This is a military airship. We don't give away peanuts. What about the trailmix i fucking gave you earliar?" He growled.

"Oh, that" Caboose said. He now had a worried expression. "Grif said that it was some evil trailmix, so he heroically took it off my hands!" He beamed.

"I see" Church sighed. " _Fucking asshole_ " He muttered. "Just... go ask Tucker, alright buddy?"

"Okay!" Caboose saluted. "Bye Church!" He waved goodbye and went over to Tucker who was on the far-end of the ship. Church almost felt bad that he didn't bring peanuts of all things. He **did** know after all they were Cabooses favourite food to eat during flights, not trailmix. However, he didn't feel bad because of how disapointed Caboose was. It was more over getting pestered by Caboose then anything else.

"You feel bad... because you didn't bring peanuts on a military airship" Carolina paused. "For Caboose?"

"Wha-no! How did... why the fuck would you..?" Church stuttered.

"You're in an airship Church, not your own body. Your thoughts are presented in text on the control panel" She said flatly. "We've seen everything. By _we,_ i mean me and Tucker" She told. A moment of silence passed between them. "Um, you don't think too negatively of him, do you?"

" _Oh, so thats how you view me? You fucking asshole!_ " Tucker shouted at him from the passengers seat. Church gave a nervous chuckle. " _Nevermind. It got better. Barely though_!"

"Well, Tuckers going to hate me after this ride" He groaned. "Anything else we can talk about..?" He sounded almost desperate.

"Surprisingly, yes" She nodded. "Turns out the ship is coming across universe-wide internet connections"

"So thats what those were" Church said. "But why is that important?"

"Knowing how prominant Malcolm Hargrove is in society... theres no doubt people have written some articles about him. Some of which could be helpful" She informed. "We haven't exactly been keeping up with the latest news Church. If hes been buying tanks and other military equipment the press would've found out. They'll be documents on it everywhere!" She explained. "So, it'd be best to check it out"

"I'll see what i can do" Church smiled. Carolina smiled back. "But knowing how much articles there are in space, i think it would be pretty easy to connect to _atleast_ one outlet" He stated.

"Sounds good" Carolina nodded. "Tell me if you do it"

\---

"So, for future notice, whats your favourite colour?" Donut asked, grinning. "I'm working on a _secret project_ and i really need to know!" He winked.

"Orange. _Duh"_ Grif rolled his eyes.

"Heh, I don't really have a favourite colour" Simmons laughed, looking over at Grif.

Donut gasped. "What!? You **don't** like colours!?"

"Thats not what i said. I just dont have a favourite" He corrected. "And i'm not the only person who thinks-"

"YOU'VE NEVER SEEN A RAINBOW!?!" Donuts eyes widened. "Where have you been!?"

"I-wait, what?" Simmons blinked. "Donut, are you even listening to m-"

"Caboose!" Donut ordered. The blue soldier pranced next to Donut happily. "Draw a rainbow for Simmons! He hasn't seen one, so this is urgent" He instructed. Caboose nodded and went back to his seat. Donut turned to face Simmons once more. "I am so sorry i didn't know about this sooner!" He apologised.

"Donut..." Simmons sighed. "I **have** seen a rainbow"

"Oh" Donut smiled weakly. "Caboose" He half-whispered. "Cancel the project!"

 _"Awww"_ Caboose looked down. "But i just finished!" He showed off a piece of paper with crude stick figure drawings under a rainbow. "See, i drew Church and Mackenzie, Tucker and Wash are making me a present. Grif and Simmons are holding hands, and you and Lopez are too" He beamed. Donut blushed a little at that; looking at where Lopez was (On the other side of the ship) before looking back awkwardly. "And theres me! I'm flying..." He added excitedly.

"Oh, Caboose... thats..." Simmons cringed a little. "Nice?"

"Really dude?" Grif asked. "I think its kind of shit"

"What?" Caboose said, tears welling in his eyes. Grif was about to explain why when he saw Mackenzie in the corner of his eye shooting him a cold death glare. "W-why?" Caboose sniffled.

"Oh, uh, i didn't mean shit!" Grif lied. "I meant... _sit._ As in it _sits well_ with me..?" He bit his lip.

"That was absolutely horrible" Simmons scolded quietly.

"Better then anything you could come up with!" Grif retorted, not as quiet as he should've been.

"I **did** come up with something, and it _was_ better!" Simmons argued.

Grif shrugged. "Whatever"

"I think its lovely Caboose" Donut grinned. "You should go and show it to Mackenzie, i reckon she'd love it!" He insisted.

"Really?" Donut nodded. Caboose beamed before skipping over to Mackenzie joyously. "Mackenzie, look what i drew! You're in it!" He said cheerfully.

\---

"Sis, i'm done!" Church called. Carolina walked up to him. "I found an odd open connection, i'm entering it now" He stated. "Its offline though... so that could mean a variety of things" He sighed. Carolina heard a short beeping noise. "And it appears i'm right..."

"About what?"

"Well, its open because this connection has been left behind for a while now. Everything we can search needs to be around a certain time. Checking through the files its up to when we shut down Project Freelancer" He said. "The last _'recent'_ articles up our these ones; ' _Project Freelancer brought to justice' 'Red and blue soldiers get pardoned for all crimes' ' Mackenzie J. Caboose wins medal of honour' 'Heroes sent back ho-_ WAIT, WHAT!?" Church shouted surprised.

"Um, Church" Carolina began. "What was that third one?"

"Uh...it was..." He stuttered. "' _Mackenzie J. Caboose wins medal of honour._.. lets see here. Holy shit!?"

"What is it?" Carolina questioned.

"Three things. So first off i checked its authenticity. Its definitely real. Second, this isn't some measly medal of honour they give to some  _okay_ soldiers, this things the ' _Galaxy Medal Of Honour'_ and thats a fucking big deal. Malcolm Hargrove and the director won one each! The director in his youth and Hargrove after he became the head of the UNSC" Church announced. "Not only that, but to win one, you need to do more than one good deed. I mean like countless" He elaborated.

"What kind of good deeds did she do?" Carolina blinked.

"Lets just say, it'd take hours naming them all" Church sighed.

Carolina began walking away. "We need to confront her about this. She didn't tell us!"

"No" Church stopped her. "We can't"

"Why not?" Carolina asked. "She _lied_ to us..."

"Not really, but-" He paused. "Can't we just wait until we get to Chorus? Caboose is here. We don't want to create too much drama" He reminded. "Besides, in that time i can record and save her previous actions. Now that i'm looking at her name on this thing... theres a lot of results and this trip is just about enough time for me to process them all"

"I suppose you're right" Carolina admitted. "Too much drama and too little information to go off of"

"Exactly" Church agreed. "We'll be at Chorus in roughly two days. By then, we'll have everything we need to confront her about this" Carolina nodded before looking down at the floor, glaring.

"Lets just hope she has a good explanation as to why she didn't tell us about this"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh, looks like theres a lot more in Mackenzies past! :D
> 
> Speaking of Mackenzie... i really wanted to work on her past. It can't be all seen here so thats why i have an announcement. As i'm finishing this i've made a story focused on Mackenzie. I plan on releasing it after this is done. Infact, expect a lot of stories about the OC's. There going to be popping up whilst i work on the sequel to; when THIS is done. That way, you won't get too bored waiting. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and have a nice day! :)


	60. Chapter 59, The End?

The next two days of the ride went surprisingly well.

Church and Carolina continued to gather information about Mackenzie, keeping it as discreet as possible. However, Tucker knew. He had heard Church thinking about it. He realised they must have forgotten he was at the panel; so he kept quiet. Yet he wasn't the only one who knew. Mackenzie knew aswell. Sort of. She noticed how they kept rather distant from her and said her name in hushed tones. Mackenzie chose to ignore it.

Caboose was as bubbly as always, though he felt rather down sometimes. Church (avoiding Mackenzie) had been keeping away from him. Caboose didn't know why. Maybe they were playing a surprise game of Hide and Don't Seek and Church didn't want Caboose to lose so early. After all, Church did always win and it wasn't fair. Caboose has come onto the conclusion hes cheating.

Grif and Simmons... _still_ really don't know what they are. They insist to everyone that they're friends figuring things out (which has slowly been killing Donut) much to everyones annoyance.

The newcomers are slowly joining the group as the days progressed. Whilst some consider them okay others despise them. Particularly Carolina. Diancie had been self-centered and intolerable and there were hardly any times were Cross and Leo hadn't fought over something. Mike was the only one fitting in really. He tried hitting on Carolina only to get punched in the face. Tucker said he had guts and went on to talk about other things, only to be mildy disapointed when Mike said he wasn't doing it for the sex.

Speaking of Tucker, him and Wash were oddly far from eachother on the ride. It made Donut freak out but luckilly Lopez was there to calm him down. If not, Tucker and Wash would've never heard the end of it.

York was... quiet. He didn't really do anything.

That leaves us to today. When they finally get to Chorus...

\---

"Okay fuckers, we're here" Church told. Everyone smiled and got out of their seats, walking out. Church got out of the airship and into his body again. He walked up to Caboose. "Finally. That airship makes me feel really insecure. Seriously, just look at how fucking big it is!?" He said, agrivated.

"I know right" Caboose said flatly. "You were like Sheila!" He perked up.

"Right" Church rolled his eyes.

"Hey, um..." Some soldiers walked up to Church. "Do you want us to search the vehicle? Collect any belongings?" They said, offering their help.

"Nah" Church shrugged them off. "Theres nothing in there anyway"

\---

Neon gasped for air as she and Jay appeared in the storage part of the airship. "Did... did we do it?" She asked panting. "I think we did it. A time-jump. Together. Hooray..." She cheered weakly. "Um, where are we?"

"I think this is the airship i was locked up in" Jay replied. He snuck a quick peak out the window. "No way" He smiled brightly. "Neon, we're in Chorus! I bet we could call some of Hargroves soldiers and get us picked up if we sneaked out of here and futher into the snow!" He was jumping with joy. "This is perfect!"

"Yeah!" She grinned. "Thats not too far of a teleport, is it?" She asked, still breathing quite heavilly.

"Finally" Jay smiled sinisterly, ignoring her question. "We can initiate the plan" He chuckled lightly. "We can finally initiate the purge"

\---

"What the fuck is this?" Church asked, gazing at the soldiers infront of him and the rest of the reds and blues.

"Introducing your new students" Kimball told. She took a step back as they all ran to their captains.

\---

"Hey dude, are you Dexter Grif?" A young blonde boy asked. Grif nodded. "Oh fuck yeah! What do you wanna do? Go for runs? Play dodgeball? I know a pretty good volleyball player in the army!" He said, doing jogs as he spoke. "A hundred push-ups. No! Five" Grif took a breath of relief at the number lowering. "Million!" He added excitedly. Grif groaned.

\---

"You must be Simmons!" A brunette girl waved.

"Oh, hi!" Simmons squeaked. _It had to be a girl_. He thought.

"What? Your not Simmons? Whose 'Hi'? Didn't you watch any P.S.A's as a child?" She crossed her arms. Simmons blinked at her. "I might have to talk to Kimball about Simmons. What if hes her imaginary friend?" She cocked a contemplative eyebrow. "Someones crazy" She said nervously.

\---

"You must be Michael J. Caboose" A red-head said. She sported an unreadable face. "Glad to meet you. Please. Call me Theodosia. I was named after Aaron Burrs daughter. An interesting tale on him, really. Do you read any history books?" She asked. "What is your standings on the founding fathers?"

"They live in my wallet!" Caboose proclaimed.

"I see" She said, writing something down in a note-pad. "Now to diagnose this medical condition" She muttered.

\---

"Hey, is there a guy named Sarge here?" An orange haired girl questioned. Church shook his head. "Sweet. No work" She smiled.

\---

"Why the fuck are you wearing pink?" A man with dyed hair asked, looking over at Donut.

"Its a light-ish red" Donut insisted.

"Fine" The man rolled his eyes, following his word with a quiet homophobic slur. "If you say so"

\---

"What do you mean, gone?" Felix questioned angrilly.

"I mean they're gone. The only people still here are some people you don't know and the old guy" Delaware informed. "They're gone"

"Fuck" Felix muttered. "We need to go after them!"

"We are. Hargroves orders" Delware stated. "So, lets get packing. Also this time? If i ask you to help me with a fucking box, listen the first time. I am not letting that scene occur again" She hissed. "Bring the hostage. Who knows when she'll come in handy"

Felix nodded. "Those idiots better not think that they are finally fucking free" He laughed. "They'll never be!" He spat.

\---

"Thats it!" Arizona groaned. "We're leaving!"

"Are you sure?" North asked.

"Yeah" Arizona hissed. "I am. Lets just go to Chorus. I am not waiting any longer, i swear!"

North sighed. "Sorry Kai"

\---

"Oh, before we forget..." Doctor Grey began. "We have a surprise for you!" The reds and blues turned to look at her, watching intently. She smiled as a familiar purple soldier stepped out from behind her, waving shakily.

"H-hey guys"

"DOC!?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this is bad! :( 
> 
> Thanks for reading and please leave a comment! :)


	61. Chapter 60, Sequel Preview

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What Are The Chances?
> 
> Description: 
> 
> 'The reds and blues (aside from some) make it to Chorus only to discover things aren't exactly what they seem. Everyones at ends with Tucker, Mackenzies acting off and the newcomers are trying their hardest to fit into a war even though they were terrible at a fake one to begin with. However, they must all band together to defeat Hargrove once more, with a combined team of Jay, Neon, Felix and Agent Delaware by his side. Not to mention how the purge is coming...
> 
> ...and there is no where they can run'
> 
> IMPORTANT TAGS: AGNST, HUMOR AND MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH

"H-hey guys"

"DOC!?"

After mere seconds Doc felt himself get pulled into a tight embrace. "D-Doc..." He could feel Donut shudder. "I'm so... SORRY! We... I... thought you were dead!" He sniffled. "I'm so glad to see you're alive!" He smiled weakly, tears strolling down his cheeks. "I m-missed you so much!" Lopez felt a hint of jealousy. "Where have you been?"

"Unconcious for two years i guess" He sighed, hugging Donut back.

Grif shot a glare at Tucker. "Wait, dude... didn't you say he was dead?" He furrowed his brows at the aqua soldier. The whole room turned to face Tucker. He shook a little at the attention. "You did! I remember!" Grif pointed at him. "You said he was fucking dead!" The orange soldier stated.

"D-dudes... listen..." Tucker tried to think of words to defend himself.

"Why the **fuck** would you lie Tucker!?"

Tucker jumped. That had been... _Donut_. It caught him by surprise. He never had heard Donut swear before. It was oddly threatening. "We needed to get out of there quickly, remember? If we stopped we would've-"

"We spared time for you when Church shattered in your head. You nearly died but we stayed and healed you. What was different with Doc? If anything his injury was less of a problem for the mission then yours was!" Simmons added. Tucker flinched.

"Wait..." Church raised a hand. "I nearly fucking killed Tucker!?"

"Whys everyone so worried? Was Doc dead?" Caboose cocked his head to the side. "If so, whats so bad then? All dead people come back!"

"Caboose, hun, lets get out of here" Mackenzie interrupted, pulling her cousin by the hand out of the room.

Everyone started throwing insults at Tucker. His eyes grew watery and he couldn't breathe. Soon enough, he couldn't take it anymore. He ran as fast as he could out of there. "Tucker! Wait!" Wash called after him, starting to sprint after the aqua soldier. "Come back!"

Doc clenched his fists. He was finally back... and he was already starting things. He took a deep breath. "I am a fucking failure" He whispered.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will also be the prologue for the sequel, but extended. I hope you liked this story! While i wok on the next one, i'll post little side stories about other characters as said before. Please leave a comment and if you will, be detailed. Maybe just a comment talking about the whole story and what i do good and what i do bad. I won't mind. I accept any kind of critique.
> 
> Thanks for reading what are the odds! Have a nice day! :D


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